Gay Like Me
by Akira of the Twilight
Summary: //AU SasuNaru// It all started with a seat change and a game, and now Naruto knows Sasuke's secret, which he really wish he didn't. So what’s a guy to do?
1. A New Location

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or it's characters because if I did there would a lot more demons and I'd probably make everyone's life ten times more miserable. I am a very cruel author when it comes to my characters.

**Summary:** It all started with a seat change and a game, and now Naruto knows Sasuke's secret, which he really wish he didn't. So what's a guy to do?

**Pairing:** SasuNaru. I might make other pairings but I will most likely not be building them. If they appear they will appear at random.

**Warnings:** This will most likely be PG-13 so expect some cursing, sexual mentions, and underwear.

Chapter 1

A New Location

Could anything look more frightening? What could be scarier than a barf green colored door?

Admittedly, a lot of things could seem scarier than a barf green door. Some people may even be willing to say that a barf green door is just ugly and not scary. On the other hand, there are freaks of nature that think the color is beautiful and enchanting.

Maybe a _normal_ door could be somewhat okay if it was painted barf green but this wasn't just any door. This horrendous, barf green door held a terrible thing behind it. Beyond the door lay Naruto's second to worst enemy. Everyday he had to pry open the door and face his undefeatable enemy and everyday he came out of the room feeling lower than a worm and craving comfort food.

_Hmm. Food. What did I pack for lunch today? Stupid morning memory loss. _Naruto thought to himself and grumbled. What lay beyond the barf green door was looking less appealing by the second and how that was possible when the door wasn't appealing to begin with was a feat Naruto could not comprehend.

"I want to barf just thinking about entering this room, so they shouldn't encourage me to do so by painting the door such an ugly color."

"They" was what Naruto liked to call the people who decided the colors of the doors, whoever those people were.

Naruto sighed and scuffed the tip of his shoe against the asphalt beneath his sneakers. His nerves and flipping stomach were making him anxious, or maybe it was the other way around? Oh what did it matter! Either way Naruto wanted to turn around and run.

And why shouldn't he just turn around and run?

No one had seen him yet. If anyone noticed his absence then he could tell them he was feeling sick and couldn't enter that terrible room. It wouldn't be a complete lie. He was feeling sick, just not the coughing and in drastic need of medicine kind of sick.

Yeah! He could definitely do that!

Naruto felt his heart swell with happiness, like the happiness he felt when he had his first bowl of ramen. Without conscious thought Naruto began to whistle and stuffed his hands in his jean pockets. Smile painted on his face, Naruto spun on his heel to leave when the worst thing happened.

It was her!

Naruto had no idea who the teenage girl was but he knew she was going to open that ugly door and reveal to everyone and everything inside that he was perfectly healthy. She obviously had no idea what she was about to do, in fact her glazed over eyes told Naruto that she was daydreaming and was moving purely on autopilot.

As the girl slid past Naruto's side and in front of him his fingers twitched. He wanted to grab the girl and-and-and… he didn't know what but he had to do something! Throw her to the ground, kidnap her, tap her on the shoulder, body slam her, or something! But he couldn't. Naruto wasn't the smartest guy but he wasn't stupid. He knew waking a daydreamer was as good as waking up a sleepwalker. If he startled the daydreamer he'd be perfectly fine one moment and the next he would find a weapon held up to his body.

So gulping down his fear Naruto braced himself for what was to come.

The door opened with a click and the girl slid into the room without pause and in that moment someone in the room caught sight of Naruto.

The door was about to swing to a close when a hand reached out and stopped its movement and Naruto knew he was doomed.

"Naruto," A young man, who could only be in his late twenties, said in a kind voice and smiled as if he didn't know the torture Naruto was about to face. "Class is about to begin, please come in."

Naruto sighed and hung his head low.

The man laughed, oblivious to Naruto's despair. He stepped to the side but held the door open as he waited for Naruto to enter the classroom. "Come on, today is going to be fun! We're going to review Sine, Cosine, and Tangent!"

Naruto wanted to die! Why hadn't he ditched math class when he had the chance!

Oh yeah, that stupid girl. It was all her fault that he was suffering now. He should kick her ass or something for this.

Scanning the classroom Naruto caught sight of the girl sitting off in her own little corner. Her eyes were still glossed over in a haze but her hand wrote effortlessly on a blank page in her notebook. Suddenly her hazy eyes changed. They still held their daydreaming quality but her eyes were narrowed and looked beyond pissed off.

Okay… so maybe he wasn't going to mess with the crazy girl who instead of finding her happy place had just found her angry place.

"…So I've decided to seat you next to Sasuke."

"Huh?" Naruto responded. Had the teacher been talking to him?

The older man sighed but kept the smile on his face. His name should be Mr. Smiley. In fact that's what Naruto was going to call him from now on because he couldn't remember the man's real name; he really should try to find it out one of these days.

"I said," Mr. Smiley began as he let the door shut behind Naruto, and just like that Naruto felt all his hopes and dreams leave him, "while at first I did not mind letting you and Kiba sit next to each other you two have become a disturbance to the class. For the last few weeks I have tried my best to ask you two to quiet down and focus but you two–"

_Can't this guy get to the point? Wait! No! If I can keep him talking long enough then maybe I can prevent a math lesson. Yes. Keep talking Weirdo. Just keep talking._

"Now please take your new seat next to Sasuke."

"Who?" For seven months Naruto had been in this class and he did not know anyone by the name of Sasuke. Was Sasuke a new transfer student?

"Come on," Mr. Smiley shook his head in disappointment but remained his joyful self.

How annoying. Didn't anyone tell Mr. Smiley that pessimism is the new orgasm?

As Mr. Smiley walked away from Naruto and waved for his student to follow, Naruto stood rooted to the spot. For all he knew Mr. Smiley was sitting him next to a psycho.

Then again… sitting next to a psycho may be fun.

With a smile and shrug, Naruto followed Mr. Smiley to his new seat.

The seat wasn't too bad. Because of how the seats were arranged there were three seating sections: one against the wall where the ugly, barf green door was (Naruto's new location), the second section was across from the first section with the windows to the back of the students who sat there, and the final section was against the back wall. Each section had about ten seats to it, and Naruto was placed almost in the back corner between two of the sections. This new location would make it easier for him to sleep in class.

Yup, a great seat but the person he was sitting next two was weird.

Sasuke, Naruto assumed the guy with weird, black hair and pale skin like a vampire's was Sasuke, was working diligently on the warm up problems Mr. Smiley had written on the whiteboard.

No one ever does the warm up problems. Not even Sakura and she is the smartest and hardest working person Naruto knows.

Sasuke was also weird because of his seat. The section Sasuke sat in had two rows and Sasuke was in the back row with no seat in front of him or to his left, and the seat to his right was empty. Sasuke was isolated from other students and it made Naruto wonder what kind of freak Sasuke had to be.

"Sasuke," Mr. Smiley said and side stepped so Naruto would be in Sasuke's direct line of sight.

That is if he ever looked up from his paper.

"…."

"…."

"…."

Oh come on! Like math problems were really that interesting!

"…."

"…."

"…."

Okay, now Sasuke was just being an ass.

"Uh… Sasuke?" Mr. Smiley asked, actually sounding nervous!

Mr. Smiley nervous? That was impossible! Mr. Smiley is always happy and cheerful. What kind of person could this Sasuke be to be able to make the happy Mr. Smiley nervous?

Finally Sasuke looked up from his paper and Naruto was taken aback by the freakiest thing he had ever seen.

It wasn't the first time Naruto had seen someone with black eyes but every time he had seen eyes that color they were usually fake; it was usually a character in a movie or someone cosplaying a character.

What kind of a freak was Sasuke?

"Hn," Sasuke grunted and went back to writing on his paper.

Apparently Sasuke was a silent freak.

"Well, I hope you two get along," Mr. Smiley said and was gone from Naruto's side in a flash. Seriously, Mr. Smiley was gone in a flash. The lights of the classroom blinked off and on and all of a sudden Mr. Smilely wasn't there.

_Traitor! How could you abandon me with the freak!_ Naruto cried inwardly. _You really are an evil teacher! I knew that behind that smile lurked an evil mastermind! Wait till I tell the principle what your true nature is!_

"Hi!" Naruto said cheerfully and slid into the seat to Sasuke's right. Naruto had never been so thankful that he could force a smile with ease. He really didn't want to set the freak off by showing his true feelings for the freak.

"Hn."

"Whatcha doing?" _Besides being weird and creepy. _

"Hn."

"Alright class," Mr. Smiley shouted and Naruto was grateful for the distraction.

"As you all can see Naruto and Kiba have been separated–"

"Naruto!" Kiba cried overdramatically from across the classroom. Kiba even went as far as to stand up from his seat and clutch his heart as if he were in pain. "No! Come back!"

Naruto laughed. He was going to miss joking with Kiba. The moment he had the chance he was going to sneak back to his old seat and talk with Kiba. However, for now he had a different approach.

Mimicking Kiba's stance, Naruto shouted across the room, "Don't worry Kiba! Someday we will be together again!"

The class burst out in laughter. Everybody was laughing and clutching their stomach except for one person: Sasuke.

The freak was scowling at Kiba. His body radiated murder and Naruto found himself hoping that Sasuke would never scowl at him like that.

Then it happened. From the corner of his eye Sasuke looked at Naruto and the scowl transformed into a smirk.

What was that freak smirking about?

"Please settle down class…" Mr. Smiley's sentence trailed off, which now that Naruto thought about it the action was kind of weird. How can a person trail off from a sentence when technically they completed their sentence? Obviously the action was possible because so many people did it, but nonetheless-

Naruto shook his head to silence his thoughts. He really did not need to be thinking about the value of words and descriptions right now; that's what literature class is for!

Ignoring his inner critical thinker, Naruto watched in amusement as Mr. Smiley stuttered and blushed when the classroom door was opened by a female teacher, who waved for Mr. Smiley to come outside. It was obvious that she was the cause for Mr. Smiley's sudden lack of attention towards his students, and ninety percent of his students were currently worshiping her silently because of that.

"Um… class," Mr. Smiley began, blush decorating his cheeks. He reminded Naruto of a girl about to lose her virginity and by the predatory look on the female teacher's face Mr. Smiley might as well be. "I have to discuss some things with my colleague here. Please help each other answer the homework questions."

Then like a wolf pouncing on a bunny the female teacher grabbed Mr. Smiley by the shoulders and forcibly removed him from the classroom before anyone could stop her.

Seconds ticked by and no one knew what to say. Every student was looking back and forth at each other trying to see if anyone truly understood what had just happened.

_Okay Naruto, here are the facts, _Naruto's brain told him. _Fact one, Mr. Smiley has abandoned us. Fact number two, Mr. Smiley abandoned us for a good-looking female teacher. Fact number three, the female teacher _pounced_ on Mr. Smiley, and Mr. Smiley was acting like a girl about to lose her virginity earlier. So adding this all together means…_

"That lucky dog!" Kiba shouted and murmurs of agreement quickly followed. "How does a geek like him manage to get a girl who wants, and is willing, to have sex with him at school, and when one of them is supposed to be teaching a class too!"

"Who cares about that," Sakura, a lovely girl with strawberry colored hair that looked so soft Naruto couldn't help but feel the urge to touch it every time he saw it, shouted and turned her desk around so she was facing her blonde haired friend Ino. "Whoever wants to play Never Have I Ever come over here and form a circle."

"Um…" A shy girl known as Hinata hummed as she bit her bottom lip. Naruto felt pity for the girl. She was seated next to Ino and Sakura so she was currently counted as one of the people who would have to play, and with no friends in the classroom she had nowhere else to go. "Aren't we supposed to be doing math?"

Ino snorted and got out of her seat to help form a circle with the desks nearby. As she maneuvered a desk she smirked at Hinata. "There is math in Never Have I Ever. You have to be able to subtract."

"Hey Naruto," Sakura said as she walked towards him, "Are you going to play?"

Yay! A personal invite from Sakura! This just made his day. He now had proof that Sakura didn't detest him! He was one step closer to getting her to fall madly in love with him!

"Of course!" Naruto cheered and took the initiative to turn his desk around. His new seat was so awesome! Forget the fact that he was sitting near a freak, he was sitting in the same seating section as Sakura now!

Sakura gave him a beaming smile, "Great. Just turn your desk inward a bit more and we'll begin forming the circle from there." And with that Sakura went back to Ino's side to help the girl move more desks.

Ah, Sakura. So helpful, and kind, and beautiful.

He could just see himself on a date with her now. Everything would be perfect and he would-

"Hey Naruto! What's Never Have I Ever?" Kiba yelled across the classroom, effectively ruining the beginning of what Naruto knew was going to be a good daydream.

Kiba was going to regret doing that later but for now Naruto would play nice and answer his question. "The game starts off with everyone who is playing holding up their hands with all of their fingers sticking up like so," Naruto demonstrated the pose for Kiba. "The players take turns and when it is your turn you are supposed to say one thing you have never done. If anyone who is playing has done what you haven't done they lower one finger." Naruto lowered one of his fingers. "If you lower all ten of your fingers you are out. The objective of the game is to be the last one with a finger still up."

Kiba gave Naruto a blank stare. "How is that fun?"

Naruto smirked, "You might learn a secret or two about someone."

_Come on Kiba. You know you want to play, and then I shall crush you!_

"Alright, I'll play!"

_Yes, you fool. Play, play to your heart's content and then I shall destroy you for ruining my precious daydream._

Naruto chuckled evilly on the inside.

"Yo, Naruto! We're starting," Ino said, bringing his attention back to reality.

All of the desks were arranged in a perfect circle and everyone was staring at him as if he had just walked into the room in nothing but a thong.

_What the? How did they set up the room so fast? I was only thinking to myself for a few seconds right? So how did they…._

"NARUTO!" Everyone shouted, causing Naruto to feel as if he were being hit with a giant gust of wind.

Smiling sheepishly, Naruto apologized and held up his hands like he was supposed to.

"Okay, I'll start us off first," Sakura volunteered. "Never have I ever gotten an F."

Half of the circle groaned and lowered one finger.

"Wow! You sure know how to make enemies don't you, Sakura?" Naruto laughed as he lowered one finger.

She giggled. "Yup."

Next to Sakura, Ino scowled as she lowered a finger and Naruto could sense the intense desire of revenge rolling off of Ino.

He gulped. Okay, admittedly he was currently feeling a little vengeful himself but Ino is scary when she is vengeful. The girl's aura suddenly always becomes visible (at least to Naruto it does) and it is a dark, menacing cloud with little Ino devil's coming out of it.

…

… Okay, so maybe he had an overactive imagination but who wouldn't imagine that happening if they saw the look on Ino's face?

"Never have I ever dyed my hair, and that includes streaking or highlighting it," Ino announced smugly.

Sakura frowned and lowered one finger along with a few other people.

"Eh?" Hinata burst out in surprise. "You dyed your hair, Sakura?"

"No," Sakura glanced pointedly at Ino. "I highlighted it once two years ago."

"Oh." Hinata mumbled an apology and the game continued.

Naruto waited impatiently for his turn. He couldn't wait to get vengeance on Kiba. No one interrupts his daydreams and gets away with it!

"You're turn Naruto," Someone finally announced and Naruto didn't hesitant with his statement.

"Never have I ever given my first kiss to a dog!"

"What the fuck! Naruto," Kiba growled and violently shot out of his seat. "I told you that in secret, and anyway I did that when I was five, when my dog hit his nose against a wall. I was just kissing it to make it better, like any five year old would do!"

"Doesn't matter," Naruto smiled wickedly. "It still counts."

"I'll kill you!" Kiba tried to launch himself at Naruto but the two people sitting next to him held him back and tried to calm him down. It took ten minutes for Kiba to stop threatening Naruto's life and by then Ino and Sakura were threatening to have him neutered. Needless to say it was the girls' threats that managed to tame Kiba.

Isn't it sad how the best of friends will only stop trying to kill each other when their balls are in danger?

So the game went on and on. Everything was going pleasantly as they managed to go around the circle once and no one got kicked out, but people were still saying baby things like:

"Never have I ever eaten carrots."

"Never have I ever driven over a hundred miles to find gas at a cheaper price."

"Never have I ever been to the ocean."

That is until…

"Never have I ever gone commando."

Naruto actually blinked at that one. He had been waiting so long for the juicy stuff he thought the game would stay rated G for general audiences.

Smiling coyly, Naruto lowered one finger, leaving him with six.

From the corner of his eye Naruto saw Kiba scrunch his nose up in distaste at Naruto.

Ah, poor, silly Kiba. He did not know the joy of not being restrained by underwear. It is a freeing experience that feels good.

Some people may find it strange but Naruto preferred the rough feeling of his jeans against his skin rather than the soft material of his boxers. If only his guardian didn't threaten to skin him alive every time he was caught trying to sneak out of the house without underwear. So far he had only managed to leave the house without underwear on twice.

Sighing, Naruto waited for the next person to go.

He rolled his eyes heavenward when he saw that it was Hinata. No way was she going to say anything daring.

And then it happened. She uttered the words that would help in the destruction of his world as he knew it.

"Never have I ever kissed a boy."

Doesn't sound so earth shattering does it? Well that's what Naruto thought until he heard someone whisper behind him, "Damn. I lost."

Only one person was behind Naruto and that one person was Sasuke.

A sheet of ice ran down Naruto's back.

Sasuke had been playing the game too? Well, technically he was half-playing because he never said something he didn't do when the group had gone around the circle the first time, but still, he was playing. And if Sasuke was playing and he just lost that meant…

_Oh dear ramen!_ Naruto squealed in his head. _Sasuke has kissed a boy! I am sitting next to a homo! _

At that moment something died inside Naruto.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

**Author's Note: **Yay! The first chapter is completed. For any of my readers who follow my work some of you may be thinking this is the multi-chapter fanfic I promised, truthfully it kind of is and isn't. I had planned on a different fanfic for what I had promised but then I got inspiration for this fanfic. I hope no one minds.

Also if anyone who was reading this thinks I got the name of the game wrong please let me know. Some of my classmates were playing this game in class and I'm not sure if I got the name right.


	2. Inspiration for a Story

Chapter 2

Inspiration for a Story

_Sasuke kissed a boy. I am sitting next to a homo in math class. _The two sentences had been repeating in Naruto's head like a mantra all day.

What was he going to do? He had no idea how to act around Sasuke now. He had been clueless before but now he was hopeless.

He couldn't be friendly because then maybe Sasuke would take it the wrong way and think that Naruto was interested in him in a romantic way. He also couldn't be mean because if Sasuke ever found out that Naruto was being mean and knew that he was a homo then he could sue Naruto for a hate crime.

….

What? Like it couldn't happen? Naruto had watched enough TV dramas to know that he could get hit with a hate crime very easily.

So what was he going to do?

He sighed as he scribbled something down on his five by three inch notepad.

Not only did he have Sasuke to deal with but he also had to find a story for journalism, and sitting in front of his assigned computer wasn't helping him, especially with Ibiki sensei glaring at him.

What was Ibiki sensei's problem anyway? He was always so mean to Naruto. It had to be because of the story Naruto had written about bald teachers. How was he supposed to know under Ibiki sensei's bandana there was a head with no hair? The old man had to be holding a grudge against him for that; it was the only logical explanation.

"Naruto…"

Naruto, startled, jumped and tossed his notebook and pencil up in the air.

"Naruto…" His name was breathed with a perfect frustrated sigh that said "I-don't-want-to-be-here-so-stop-acting-stupid-for-a-second-please." Only one person in the world had mastered that sigh and suddenly Naruto's heart felt like it could fly.

"Shikamaru!" He cried in joy as he spun around in his seat so he could see the boy, who was staring at the ceiling in boredom.

Shikamaru was a god in Naruto's book. Shikamaru was the editor of the school paper and the reason why Naruto wasn't failing the class. Inspiration for a story rarely hit Naruto so Shikamaru, like the divine being that he is, would give Naruto a prompt. Those prompts did wonders for Naruto's writing.

"What's up Shikamaru? Do you have a story idea for me?" Naruto felt like a puppy begging for food, but damn if he wasn't desperate for a story.

The boy, who wouldn't stop looking up at the ceiling sighed. "Naruto… you need to write a story for the front page and stop writing editorials."

Something inside Naruto broke.

He didn't understand. What did Shikamaru mean? He wrote stories, not editorials. Sure none of his stories had made the front page but that didn't mean they were editorials.

"What are you talking about Shikamaru?" Naruto struggled to smile. For the first time in his life the corners of his mouth would not move up and were glued in a downward position.

Shikarmaru sighed, closed his eyes, and lowered his head. "Naruto, you are the only person in the class who hasn't had a story on the front page. Not only that, but you are the only person who has stuck to one writing section of the paper, and probably the easiest one too. Anyone can write an editorial."

"But I don't write editorials," Naruto denied but he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Maybe he did write only editorials.

Now that he reflected upon it his articles did seem very opinionated with little facts. What little facts he had his articles was always for the purpose of supporting his argument and…

Naruto hit his head against his desk.

Oh dear precious ramen. He had been writing only editorials this whole time! What kind of journalism student was he? Sure editorials did take a certain flare but nonetheless everyone else had done something other than write only editorials for the past seven months.

"Judging by the way you slammed your head on your desk, I am assuming that you realized you have only written editorials," Shikamaru commented dryly.

Naruto could just cry. Already he could feel the tears of frustration building in his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall. He had been so proud of himself in his journalism class. Sure he wasn't the best student but it was one of the few classes where he tried his hardest and he hated knowing that his efforts could be seen as lazy by the rest of his peers.

"How could this happen?" Naruto groaned, keeping his head on his desk; he didn't want to risk anyone seeing him cry.

The slight rustle of the other boy's clothes told Naruto that Shikamaru was shrugging. "You're a very opinionated person and when you didn't have anything to write on I gave you editorial prompts."

Naruto scowled. "So why didn't you give me a prompt that _wasn't_ an editorial?"

Naruto felt more than saw the other boy shrug again. "As a reporter you have to find your own story. As the editor of the paper I have barely enough time to find my own stories let alone one for you."

_Yeah right._ Naruto bitterly thought. _You're such a lazy ass that you probably just didn't bother finding another story._

Shikamaru sighed. "Look, Ibiki sensei told me that you have one month to find a front page story and if you don't then you fail. He has also forbidden everyone from helping you."

"You make it sound like I'm the lazy one who depends on everyone else," Naruto grumbled and wrapped his arms protectively around his head. Why did this have to happen to him, and why now? Why did it have to happen right when he found out he was sitting next to a homo?

"You are," Shikamaru said with no remorse, unknowingly stabbing Naruto in the heart with a metaphorical ice pick. "Part of being a reporter is doing outside research. As an editorialist you only had to come to class, get facts off of the Internet, and then write your opinion on the matter. A reporter has to go places, interview people, and find the story. You may think you are a hard worker, but in this class you are the lazy one."

Naruto flinched.

Ouch. That really hurt. Couldn't Shikamaru have been a little nicer with his words?

"So troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled and left Naruto alone when the blond did not respond but kept his head lowered.

_What am I going to do_? It seemed that was the question of the day for Naruto.

He had heard that as a teenager he was supposed experience the feeling of being lost and confused a lot, and while he had experienced the feeling of confusion never had he felt this feeling of being lost. It was as if he had a path in front of him seconds before and suddenly it was gone, and he couldn't turn around because the path had been erased behind him.

He was stuck in the dark.

Now he wasn't being "emo" or whatever his classmates called it, there was just no other description that fit. He felt lost and he couldn't see any possibilities, at least none that he wanted to see.

Naruto sighed and lifted his head up from his desk.

What he would give for a bowl of ramen. Ramen could make anything better.

"Oh give it a break Naruto. Not even ramen can fix this problem," Naruto mumbled to himself so no one else could hear. He felt utterly defeated and he hated it.

_If only I could solve the Sasuke problem and the journalism problem with the same stone. _

Naruto scrunched up his nose in distaste. He couldn't believe he just used that ugly metaphor in his thoughts. He hated the metaphor "killing two birds with one stone". Who would be so cruel as to kill two harmless birds?

_Well you have to think of something!_ One voice in Naruto's head screamed. _You can't fail this class and Sasuke is weird and must be dealt with!_

_Well sorry_, Naruto responded sarcastically to the voice in his head. _But it's not like Sasuke and journalism go together. I need to deal with the two of them separately, which means I have to put up with one of them for a while._

_Just write an article on Sasuke! Don't you remember that famous article or book by that white guy who passed as a black man for a while?_

Naruto frowned and scratched the side of his head. That description did sound vaguely familiar.

_The thing was called __Black Like Me__. So steal the idea the guy had and write a news article titled __Gay Like Me__._

Naruto gulped. _Wait,_ Naruto responded to the voice in his head._ Wouldn't that mean I have to go undercover as a gay guy. How would that work? Everyone knows I'm straight. Also, how does that help with Sasuke?_

Naruto could just see the voice rolling its eyes heavenward at him. _Ask Sasuke to help you with the article. Ask him to pretend to date you so everyone will think you are gay. _

_And this helps with Sasuke how? _

_It helps by making Sasuke think you are okay with his sexuality, but at the same time it lets him know that you are really straight and don't want him to think your kind act is anything more_. The voice seemed to be smirking as it talked.

Naruto gulped again.

He really didn't like this idea, but did he have a better one?

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Thank you everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. Also, a special thanks to everyone who gave me the correct name of the game played in the last chapter. I'll try to edit the last chapter so the game will be called by its proper name.

And thus the plot begins… or does it?


	3. A Deal

Chapter 3

A Deal

"And that is how you solve a geometric series," Mr. Smiley said over the ring of the school bell. He was completely ignored as he shouted what the homework was above the rustling and chatter of students packing up to leave. When he finally realized that he was being ignored he shrugged and turned his back on his students and began erasing the writing on the whiteboard.

Why couldn't Mr. Smiley leave the room like everyone else?

Naruto was practically twitching in aggravation as he watched Mr. Smiley innocently clean the white board. Normally Naruto would be out the door five seconds before the bell rang, but today was different. Yesterday he had made up his mind to publish an article on the life of a male, gay teenager and to do that he would need to talk to Sasuke, which he would like to do _alone._

Now would have been the perfect time to talk to Sasuke about helping him with the article. Sasuke and him were the last two students in the classroom, and Sasuke was taking his sweet time packing his bag.

If only Mr. Smiley wasn't there.

Naruto grinded his teeth together and sighed in frustration. He was just going to have to follow Sasuke outside and talk to him on the way to Sasuke's next class. It would mean that Naruto would be late to his next class, but he was willing to sacrifice the first few minutes of his history class.

Putting on his best smile, the smile he used whenever someone would be so kind as to buy him ramen, Naruto stood up from his seat when Sasuke did and said in a cherry voice, "Hey Sasuke, I have something I need to ask you. Do you mind if I follow you to your next class?"

There were two reactions that Naruto was expecting from Sasuke. One, Sasuke would comply and Naruto would then ask Sasuke to help him with his article on the way to his class. The second reaction would be that Sasuke would say "no" and then storm off like a girl who just bitch slapped her best friend for sleeping with her boyfriend. Naruto had never considered that Sasuke might do something else.

Sasuke stared at him, and it was the most demeaning stare Naruto had ever seen. To some the look Sasuke was giving him could almost be described as a blank stare but it was that blankness that made the stare so demeaning. It was as if the stare was saying, "How stupid are you? Isn't it obvious that you are not supposed to be talking to me?" It was as if Naruto was so beneath Sasuke that Sasuke felt speaking his thoughts or showing any emotion to Naruto was a waste of energy.

"Uh…?" Naruto murmured, unsure how to respond to such a look.

With a snort of what Naruto swore was disbelief at his stupidity, Sasuke brushed past Naruto and started heading towards the exit.

Dumbly, Naruto double blinked.

When it dawned on Naruto what had just happened he let out a barely audible growl and clenched one of the straps of his backpack to stop himself from grabbing Sasuke and hurling him into a wall. What a jerk. The least he could have done was politely tell Naruto "No" but he was too much of an arrogant prick to do even that.

Spinning on his heels, he chased after Sasuke who was already out the door and heading towards his class.

Once outside of the classroom Naruto searched the crowd for his prey and spotted the jerk only a few feet ahead of him. Not pausing for a second, Naruto shoved his way through the crowd until he was walking side by side with Sasuke.

"Don't be an asshole and ignore me. I was trying to be polite!"

Sasuke let out a muffled chuckle, "Tell me, how is calling me an 'asshole' polite?"

"I said I '_was_ trying to be polite'," Naruto growled. "Past tense. In other words I'm no longer going to be polite. Now you're going to shut up and listen to my question and actually think before answering it."

There. He had asserted himself. He felt so proud. Naruto wished he was in a cartoon that way he would literally be glowing and not just figuratively.

"You already asked your question."

And with that one sentence Sasuke destroyed Naruto's inner light.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Naruto sputtered. He didn't remember asking his question so how could he have asked it? What if Sasuke was a mind reader and had read his mind and thought that Naruto had asked the question aloud instead of in his head. That would be so awesome!

Or maybe not…

Naruto had enough issues already and he didn't need to have the fear of someone being able to read his mind added to his list.

Sasuke paused in his steps, causing Naruto to come to a halt too. The two stared at each other, one looking very confused and slightly paranoid and the other looking arrogant and annoyed.

"And I quote," Sasuke condescendingly began, "'I have something I need to ask you. _Do you mind if I follow you to your next class?_' I thought the fact that I walked away from you answered that question perfectly."

With that Sasuke went back to walking towards his next class.

_What an ass_, Naruto's inner voice snarled. Naruto knew he wasn't the most pleasant person in the world, but this Sasuke guy really just took it to a new level.

Giving chase once again, Naruto caught up to Sasuke. It was tempting to grab the boy by the upper arm and slam him against a wall, but Naruto restrained himself. He wanted to get a positive answer out of Sasuke and hurting him would not help him achieve that outcome.

"You know that wasn't my real question." Sasuke opened his mouth to interrupt Naruto but the blond pressed on with what he wanted to say. "Listen, I don't like you and you clearly detest me, but I really need your help. I am part of the Journalism class. I have a news story that I want to write but I can't do it without your help."

Was it just Naruto's imagination or did Sasuke's eyes take on an eerie red glow that promised death and despair to everyone in a fifty mile radius? And was the black aura that had engulfed Sasuke part of his imagination too?

_Eep! Murder! Quick! Someone hide the ramen before he destroys it all!_

"If your article has anything to do with the Uchiha—"

"No! It doesn't," Naruto burst before Sasuke could finish his sentence. Why Sasuke would think he would write an article on the Uchiha, whatever that is, was a wonder to Naruto, but he didn't care. He was just grateful to see Sasuke calm down.

_Good job Naruto. Once again you have escaped death._ Naruto mentally patted himself on the back.

Though Sasuke had calmed down he didn't look happy. He was frowning, but Naruto was beginning to wonder if that was a permanent feature on Sasuke's face.

Then it happened. Sasuke sighed, but not just any kind of sigh; it was a sigh of defeat! "Tell me what you're article is about."

Naruto opened then shut his mouth. He frowned and scanned the halls for anyone who was listening in on their conversation. He rather not tell Sasuke in the hall but at this point Naruto was not willing to let this opportunity go after the struggle to get it. Luckily the hall was mostly empty because it was so close to the start of the next class.

With no prying ears around to overhear him, Naruto leaned in closer to Sasuke and whispered, "Have you ever heard of Black Like Me? I want to write an article like that but instead it will be 'Gay Like Me'. So what do you think? Are you willing to help me?"

"Excuse me?" Sasuke asked in bemusement. He was glaring fiercely at Naruto and for a moment Naruto thought he might have done something wrong.

"While you're idea is not entirely bad, why ask me for help?" Sasuke made sure to narrow his eyes just a tiny bit more, giving Naruto a death threat with just his weirdly colored eyes.

Well, this was awkward. How does one tell someone that they know the other person is gay and that they want to pretend to be a couple with them for about a month? This situation was definitely not something Disney taught kids how to handle.

He'd just have to wing it.

So smiling like the fool he was Naruto tried to give off the vibes of a warm, happy, accepting person, but he had the feeling that he was really coming off as a creep. He didn't know what else to do so he settled for just smiling like a creep and tried to carefully explain everything to Sasuke. "Uh… well… You see… Do you remember that game that was being played yesterday in Math?"

Sasuke nodded.

Naruto laughed nervously. Why was this so difficult? "Okay. I know you weren't _officially_ playing but I saw you playing nonetheless. I also noticed how you put your finger down when Hinata said she had never kissed a boy, which means you have kissed a boy, so…" Naruto trailed off and let Sasuke fill in the blanks.

Naruto really wished he hadn't done that because within seconds that deadly aura and the red colored eyes were back.

"So you think I'm gay?" Sasuke chuckled sourly. "You really are an idiot. You're right. I have kissed a boy, but how do you know that it wasn't my brother or father? How do you know that the place where I kissed a boy wasn't a place were kissing another person is a greeting?"

Each question felt like it was stabbing itself into Naruto, forcing him to stop his stride. When Sasuke put it in terms like that it made Naruto sound like an ignorant fool.

Yeah, an ignorant fool, that described him perfectly.

Naruto wished he could kick himself.

"If it weren't for the fact that class will be starting in less than minute and we're approaching my class I would kill you right now," Sasuke hissed and stormed off to his class.

_And there goes your passing grade in journalism,_ a little voice in Naruto's head whispered mockingly.

It was like magic. The mocking voice triggered something in Naruto that snapped him out of his self-loathing.

He couldn't fail Journalism! Not when he had such a good story idea.

So what if Sasuke may or may not be gay? He wasn't going to let Sasuke shake him off like that. He had chosen Sasuke to be the one to help him with his article and nothing was going to change that. He didn't know anyone else that came as close to Sasuke for being gay so it had to be Sasuke who would help him.

Clenching his hands into fists and gritting his teeth together Naruto walked up to the classroom he saw Sasuke enter not too long ago. The tardy bell rang as he reached the door, but Naruto didn't care. He plopped himself down in front of the closed door.

He would wait. He'd wait for Sasuke to leave his class and then follow him around until he finally decided to help Naruto. Naruto would probably miss all of his classes for the day but he didn't care.

Nothing was going to stop him now.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

"You are kidding me," Sasuke growled out between gritted teeth.

Kakashi, the drama teacher, closed his Icha Icha Paradise book, something he only did when he was serious and looked Sasuke in the eye. "Now Sasuke, why would I joke about this?"

"Because you are a sick, twisted, and manipulative individual who enjoys torturing all of his students, and if he isn't torturing them then he is ignoring them," Sasuke hissed and clenched his hands by his sides.

He couldn't believe this. He had only joined drama so he could practice his lying skills. Drama was easy albeit annoying, but he never failed anything given to him and he should be passing the class with a perfect score but this masked teacher who barely did his job was planning on giving Sasuke an eighty percent for his final grade.

"You can't do this," Sasuke used his best threatening voice and gave Kakashi a death glare but the older man was unmoved.

Kakashi shrugged and opened his little book and began reading it again. "I believe I can. I am the drama teacher after all, and you have not been acting to your fullest potential."

Was this man crazy? Sasuke was the best student in the class. He could out act some of the students who had been in Drama for four years. He had even been invited to join the thespian club even though he had not fulfilled the requirement of being in Drama for two years. To put it simply, Sasuke was an amazing actor and deserved a perfect score.

"How?"

"Hm?" Kakashi hummed.

Sasuke ignored the urge to punch Kakashi in the face. As if the man did not know what Sasuke meant by the word 'How?'. "How am I not acting to my fullest potential?" Sasuke explained, making sure not to hide his frustration.

"Oh!" Kakashi pretended to be surprised and looked up from his book. A smile could be seen underneath the fabric of his mask and his one visible eye twinkled with joy. "Why didn't you say so in the first place, Sasuke?"

Sasuke could kill this man.

"Hm," Kakashi hummed in thought, making a show of himself. "To be quite honest it is because you only play one type of role."

What?

Sasuke felt the vein above his left eye twitch in annoyance.

Kakashi's death would be a slow and painful one.

"You see," Kakashi continued to explain, ignoring or completely oblivious to Sasuke's ire, "You only play 'dark' roles. Admittedly, that doesn't mean you are playing the same person all the time, but the characters you do play have a very similar range of emotions: anger, jealousy, sadness, hurt, greed, and selfishness."

"And how do you intend for me to fix this?" Sasuke asked, his words harsh and clipped.

Turning his attention back to his book, Kakashi answered off-handedly, "Before the end of the year you have to prove to me that you can play a character that has a positive energy about them. …Kind of like that blond boy who is sitting outside the door."

"Don't remind me," Sasuke groaned.

That boy (Naruto was it?) had been following him around for his last three classes and the lunch period. Sasuke had tried to shake him off but Naruto was persistent. Luckily, he wouldn't follow Sasuke into his classes but the moment Sasuke stepped outside of the classroom Naruto was on him like fleas on a dirty dog. Why couldn't the boy take a hint? Sasuke was not going to help him.

Or so he had thought.

Sasuke glanced out the Drama room window, and stared at Naruto, who had his back turned towards the wall so Sasuke could not see his face.

"You think he has a positive persona?" Sasuke asked. He really didn't know who this Naruto guy was but if he had a positive persona like Kakashi suggested then he would gladly try and get to know him a bit more.

"He's friends with Rock Lee," Kakashi replied without tearing his eyes away from his book.

At the mention of Rock Lee Sasuke's face went pale.

Oh dear lord. Lee was the worst. If anyone in the world had a positive attitude it was _him_. That guy never gave up and had a strange obsession with youth.

"How do you know he is friends with Lee?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi shrugged and turned a page. "I've caught the two talking in the halls. The blond always looks a little put off whenever Lee goes on one of his rants but if Lee is talking to him calmly then he is usually smiling and adding in a comment or too. Based on those two reactions of his I would assume he is a friendly person but he doesn't have the crazy energy that Lee has."

Good. The last thing Sasuke wanted was to spend time with another person like Lee.

Sasuke sighed. He couldn't believe he was actually going to have to spend time with that annoying, ignorant fool.

One of the things that made it easy for Sasuke to play the characters that he did was that he knew their emotions. He was used to feeling the rainbow of negative of emotions and had very few positive ones in his arsenal.

So what was negative guy like him to do?

Why play a game of " genius see genius do" of course; he would have to mimic the ignorant fool, and that would require being in the fool's presence.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Naruto sighed and let his head bang softly against the outside wall of the drama room. There was one more class period for the day and very few students filled the period with a class. The students who usually had classes during the time slot were students with no lives, who love school too much.

Sasuke didn't strike Naruto as one of weird kids who had another class during that period and that meant that Sasuke would be going home next.

As determined as Naruto was to get his article he couldn't follow Sasuke home. It was bad enough that he was stalking Sasuke at school but if he followed Sasuke home then things could get really messy. The last thing Naruto needed was to get arrested for stalking.

Naruto glanced at a clock located on the wall across from him and sighed again.

Ten more minutes until the dismissal bell rang.

What was he going to do if Sasuke didn't agree to help him? He could probably stalk Sasuke for another day at school but he couldn't do it anymore after that.

Naruto closed his eyes in frustration and groaned. "Stupid Sasuke."

"If that's how you are going to be then maybe I won't help you."

Naruto's eyes flew open and he turned his head towards Sasuke's voice.

Sasuke was sitting on the floor next to Naruto with a cocky smirk on his face.

How the heck had he managed to get so close to Naruto without him noticing?

Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts. Who cared how Sasuke managed to get so close to him without him noticing, what mattered was the fact that it sounded like Sasuke was going to help him.

"Are you really going to help me?" Naruto asked, secretly cursing the hopeful tone in his voice.

"On one condition," Sasuke said, his smirk becoming sinister, and Naruto felt like a sheep talking to a hungry wolf. "I will pretend to be your boyfriend if I am Seme, no matter what the circumstance."

_Seme?_

Why did that word sound so familiar to Naruto? He knew that somewhere in his mind that he knew the definition of the word, but it was elluding him at the moment.

"Well?" Sasuke asked, making it clear that he wanted an answer now and not later.

Naruto gulped.

He really wished he could remember what "seme" meant.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

**Author Note**: Hello everyone! I forgot to say this last time but Mr. Smiley and that daydreaming girl are OCs. I won't use them too much. Mr. Smiley will be seen a bit more because he is the teacher of the class Sasuke and Naruto share, but he won't be in this story more than necessary.

Special props for _Azamiko_, who was a critical reader and noticed how Sasuke may not be gay. You caught me, Azamiko!

**The Rating?:** So how many of you noticed that the rating went up last chapter? If you didn't notice that is okay. As you can tell nothing "mature" has happened yet. I raised the rating because as I was writing some chapters that occur later on in this story I noticed how things were getting a little hot and heavy.

**Review Responses **for non-logged in reviews:

_Anon_.: Thank you so much for reviewing and giving me you support. I hope I got this chapter out fast enough for you and I hope you will read the next chapter to come.


	4. Morning After

Chapter 4

Morning After

Naruto tried to ignore the heat in his cheeks. He knew he was going to make himself appear like an idiot and he didn't like it. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't mind so much, since he had the habit of looking like a fool anyway, but Sasuke already thought he was an idiot and he didn't want to reinforce the idea.

Naruto gulped. He'd just have to ask and hope Sasuke wouldn't ridicule him for what we was about to ask.

"Um…Sasuke? What is a seme?"

Naruto clenched his eyes shut and looked away from Sasuke, bracing himself for the brutal reprimand that he knew was going to come out of the other teen.

It was more shocking than lightning for Naruto when instead of harsh words he heard a soft, almost gentle, chuckle come from Sasuke's direction, followed by a soft touch to his cheek. The intimate touch slid from Naruto's cheek to his chin and then with as much care as possible it turned Naruto's head so he was looking Sasuke in the eye.

Eep!

Naruto had a mental picture of himself scooting twenty miles away from Sasuke.

Sasuke was in his personal bubble, and _smiling! Smiling!_ Naruto may not have known Sasuke for long but his chilly personality was enough to tell Naruto that a smile was not a common characteristic of Sasuke's. If only Naruto could pull away, but his nerves currently had turned to overcooked ramen noodles and could not send the message from his brain to his body.

"Sasuke?" Naruto squeaked.

Suicide was looking rather pleasant right about now. Naruto couldn't believe he had just squeaked.

And why was Sasuke pushing him down so his back was resting against the cold tile floor? And why was Sasuke smirking like a cat who had just found a new ball of string?

Naruto gulped again.

"How about I show you what a seme is?" Sasuke whispered huskily with a hint of suggestiveness to his voice.

It was the only warning Naruto had before Sasuke shoved his hand up Naruto's shirt and began aggressively kissing and biting Naruto's neck.

"Oh holy ramen!" Naruto screamed and grabbed Sasuke by the shoulders and tried to force the other boy off of him. "I don't want to do this anymore!"

Sasuke would not budge, and as if to mock him Sasuke pressed down harder on Naruto, and suddenly Naruto knew how much Sasuke was enjoying this.

Naruto had only asked to pretend to date Sasuke, not get molested by him!

Naruto felt like crying on the inside. Why wasn't anyone trying to stop Sasuke? They were at school and intimate actions such as these were—

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

"Ack!" Naruto screamed as his head made impact with the ground.

"Umph," Naruto released the last bit of tension filled air in his body, causing his body to become limp. His lower half was sprawled unceremoniously across his bed while his upper half dangled off the bed. Naruto wished he could say it was the first in his life that he had woken up in such a state but that would be a lie.

He groaned and blinked his eyes so they would adjust faster to the morning light.

Thank the creator of ramen that it had all been a dream. He couldn't have handled it if Sasuke had really molested him in the halls yesterday.

_Not that it matters now_, a condescending voice in Naruto's head mocked. _Or have you forgotten that you agreed to let Sasuke be seme?_

Naruto wished the voice in his head had it's own body so he could kick its ass. It was too early in the morning to be reminded about the horrible mistake he had made the other day. He knew it was stupid but he had been so afraid that if he hadn't agreed to Sasuke's condition then he would never get another chance to pretend to date Sasuke, and there would go his article.

Stupid jerk for using Naruto's lack of vocabulary against him!

Maybe Naruto could pretend to be sick today that way he wouldn't have to put up with being Sasuke's bitch.

Yeah maybe that would…

What was that sound?

_Scratch. Scribble. Pause. Scribble._

Naruto felt the vein on his forehead throb. First he had to be reminded about his deal with Sasuke and now _this!_

Naruto pulled the rest of his body out of bed, causing a "thunk" sound as his lower body hit the floor. Not giving his body time to recover, he sat up and glared at the person he knew was sitting across from him even though he had yet to open his eyes until that moment.

"Specimen seems irritable," the intruder mumbled and wrote a notepad similar to the one Naruto used in his journalism class.

"Damn right I am irritable!" Naruto scowled and grabbed a pillow off of his bed and hurled it at his guardian, Jiraiya.

On a normal day Naruto loved Jiraiya's company. They fought and bickered but Jiraiya was there for him and cared about him like no else did. Jiraiya may not have been his father but it didn't matter to him because no father could measure up to Jiraiya.

Except today.

"Why do you always do this!" Naruto screamed.

Jiraiya, an old man with long white hair, scoffed at Naruto and hurled the pillow thrown at him back at Naruto with a greater strength, causing the boy to fall backwards when the pillow hit his face. "I'm a writer. I write adult books. Adults want to feel young again. You are young, thus if I study you I will be able to capture what it is my readers want."

Sitting back up, Naruto huffed and threw the abused pillow back onto his bed. He hated when Jiraiya used him for research for his next novel, especially since the novels he wrote were _really_ _adult_. At least after researching him Jiraiya would be kind enough to treat him to an all you can eat buffet of ramen.

"Why do you have to research me now?" Naruto wanted to whine, but made sure to keep his voice in check as he asked his question. "I have enough going on in my life and I don't need you sitting there, watching me as I sleep!"

Jiraiya shrugged and scribbled something on his notepad. "Look kid, I wouldn't be doing this if you hadn't asked me what 'seme' means. Because you asked that I know something interesting is going on inn your life and it may be novel worthy."

Naruto groaned and buried his face in his hands. He should have known. Of course Jiraiya would watch him like a hawk after a question like that.

"Just leave me alone," Naruto grumbled.

He hoped Jiraiya was picking up on the teen angst vibes he was trying to send him. Jiraiya usually left him alone if he could tell Naruto was in an angst like mood.

Jiraiya sighed, and Naruto heard him snap his notepad shut. "Fine. Just don't do anything stupid." And with that Jiraiya stood up and left the room, giving Naruto the space he needed.

Sighing in relief, Naruto uncovered his face and stood up from his spot on the floor. He looked around his room for his alarm clock and spotted it on the nightstand near his bed. He tried not to slam his head into a wall when he saw that he was up an hour earlier than he needed to be.

"No use trying to fall back asleep," he grumbled to himself as he ran a hand through his messy golden locks.

Why did his life suck?

As he contemplated the question Naruto grabbed random clothes off of his floor, making sure to smell them to see if they were clean or not. When he found a decent pair of jeans and T-shirt he put them on.

He was glad he had stopped sleeping in pajamas and decided to start sleeping in boxers; it made his morning routine a lot faster and gave him five extra minutes to goof off in the morning. Now if only he could find a pair of socks.

Searching through old papers, dirty clothes, boxes of junk, CDs, and strange objects that he could not identify and rather not identify he finally found two black socks that looked relatively similar. One was just an inch longer than the other but no one would notice.

Everything was going smoothly until the doorbell rang.

Naruto paused in tying his shoes and glanced at his window. He was too far away from it to see what lay right outside his house but he didn't feel like moving to see who had come to his house so early in the morning. No one Naruto knew would come to his house at such an ungodly hour. It had to be one of Jiraiya's friends.

"Naruto! It's for you!" Jiraiya called from the front of the house.

Naruto's frown deepened.

Okay. So maybe it was not one of Jiraiya's friends, but who would come to see him so early in the morning?

"Coming!" Naruto shouted and hurriedly tied his shoes and then rushed out his room and down the stairs. He was only halfway down the stairs when he saw the last person on earth he wanted to see.

"Someone up there hates me," Naruto muttered under his breath. He thought no one could hear him but the quirked eyebrow he received from his visitor told him differently.

"What are you doing here Sasuke?" Naruto came out and asked the boy standing in his doorway. Jiraiya stood only a few feet away and once again he had his notepad out and was taking notes.

_Traitor!_ Naruto mentally hissed.

"Isn't it common for couples to walk to school together?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly.

The bastard! Acting so calm and cool as if—

Jiraiya's pencil snapped.

Naruto gulped, and desperately tried not to look at his guardian.

Had he forgotten to mention to Jiraiya that he was going to be "dating" a guy for a month?

Sasuke smirked.

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the older teen. Oh sure, keep smirking jerk. They'd be seeing who would be laughing soon enough.

"Naruto why are-"

"Bye Jiraiya!" Naruto hollered and charged at Sasuke, grabbing the boy by the wrist, pulling him out the door, and then slamming the door all in one motion.

Admittedly, it would probably be better if Naruto had stayed and explained things to Jiraiya but he just couldn't. He was still reeling from everything himself and Sasuke's presence would not have helped matters at all.

Letting go of Sasuke's wrist, Naruto sighed in exasperation and started heading in the direction of the school. He barely paid any mind to Sasuke who was following next to him.

"You didn't bring your backpack," Sasuke commented.

Naruto grunted. "Whatever. It doesn't matter if I forget it for a day. Now tell me how you found my house."

"I looked it up in the student directory."

"Oh."

Silence fell between the two and strangely Naruto found it relaxing. He tended to prefer noise and chatter but since waking up this morning he had yet to really breath and just think about things.

He had just begun working on his article and already he hated it. He didn't want to be the uke, or at least he didn't want Sasuke to always be seme. To make matters worse he would have to deal with Jiraiya when he got home.

Is this what people meant by "the world is caving in around you"?

Something brushed against Naruto's hand. At first Naruto ignored it but then the thing that had brushed against his hand was suddenly holding it in loose grip.

Naruto glanced down at his hand and saw another hand holding it. Following the hand's arm up to the owner's face, Naruto felt like shrieking when he saw it was Sasuke who was holding his hand.

What was Sasuke doing? Hand holding? Hand holding is for romantically involved people! Not people who are dating because of a deal! And why did Sasuke look so calm about it?

Naruto tried to remove his hand from Sasuke's but when he did the loose grip suddenly became tight and unbreakable. The calm expression on Sasuke's face vanished and his head swiveled to the side so he could glare at Naruto. "What do you think you are doing?" Sasuke hissed.

Maybe it was just Naruto, but he swore Sasuke had to be an evil villain in a previous life. Maybe a demon even.

"Why are you holding my hand?" Naruto squeaked.

"Couples hold hands when they are together," Sasuke stated.

Couples?

Couples?!

Is that all Sasuke cared about! What other couples did? Well as the current uke of the situation Naruto felt he had the right to "bitch" about that.

Ripping his hand out of Sasuke's hold with strength he never knew he had, Naruto stomped off, shouting over his shoulder, "I don't care about other couples. We are not other 'couples'. This may be pretend but what I want is reality! I can't have that if you are imitating others. Every couple is supposed to be unique and I will not settle for anything less!"

There! He said it! It wasn't exactly what he wanted to say but it was the best he could come up with on such short notice.

Head held high in the air, Naruto continued in his march towards the school that tormented him so.

"And this is why it is a good thing I am seme. You are too emotional, like a girl," Sasuke said callously.

Naruto felt heat rush to his cheeks. "Shut up Teme!" Naruto then turned just enough so he could flash Sasuke the bird.

* * *

**Author Chat:** I have to say this isn't my favorite chapter. I do love the next two chapters a lot more, probably because they have more Sasuke and Naruto interaction. I hope this chapter was still entertaining though. Just wondering, did anyone fall for the dream at the beginning of this chapter?

**Super Special Awesome "Preview":** Naruto is being held hostage and cannot see his friends. All the while Sasuke is worried about what his face looks like. To top it all off Naruto has to deal with a curious and insecure Kiba. Can you guess what is going to happen? Probably, but here's hoping I can still surprise you guys.


	5. Our Masks

Chapter 5

Our Masks

"Go to hell," Naruto growled under his breath as Sasuke elbowed him in the side for the second time during the lunch period.

Sasuke shrugged and took a sip from his bottle of water.

Why had Naruto chosen Sasuke to help him again? Naruto honestly couldn't remember anymore. Sasuke was a jerk and a possessive jerk at that.

Naruto had innocently been minding his own business as he had headed towards the school cafeteria. He had been whistling a happy tune because he had just passed a history test, and to add to it Sakura had waved to him in the hall. Everything had seemed fine and he had been happy to bump into his friend Kiba along the way to lunch, and that's when _it_ happened.

Sasuke, with skills that only a ninja or an assassin could possess, mysteriously appeared out of nowhere behind Naruto. Without out warning he had wrapped his arm around Naruto's neck, basically putting the blond into a choke-hold, and dragged him down to the cafeteria. Once at the cafeteria Sasuke plopped Naruto down at a table and took a seat next to him.

And that's where Naruto was now, sulking and unbelievably frustrated.

"You can't keep me from my friends, you know," Naruto grossed at Sasuke, and slid away from his captor. Sasuke quickly slid closer to Naruto. Naruto silently cursed the school for having benches instead of chairs at the tables.

Finished drinking from his water bottle, Sasuke pulled it away from his lips and recapped it. "I have a hard time believing you want to write this article of yours. If you truly wanted to write this article you would stop thinking about other things and focus on making others believe that you are gay and my boyfriend. How do you expect to know what it is like to be gay if you keep resisting what you need to do?"

"Yeah well," Naruto huffed and tried to think of a counter argument. Was Sasuke on the debate team, because that argument was flawless as far as Naruto could tell. "You don't have to elbow me!" Naruto complained, but he knew what he had said was pathetic compared to Sasuke's earlier statement.

Sasuke scoffed and put his bottled water down on the table. He then stared at Naruto with a look that said "please try not be stupid".

Abruptly the look changed from condescending to a mischievous smirk that made Naruto want to squeak like a mouse and run away faster than a rabbit. What had he gotten himself into now? Was Sasuke going to kill him or something? No, Sasuke was too intelligent to kill him in front of witnesses; he'd kill Naruto in the middle of the night when no one would be around to hear his screams.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," but it was clear by the way that Sasuke was sliding closer and closer to Naruto that his apology was insincere and just a ploy to lure Naruto into a false sense of security. Well Naruto would not be fooled by it, so he slid away from Sasuke.

Too bad he ran out of bench to slide down.

Naruto tried not to gulp when he felt himself perched precariously at the edge of his seat, and Sasuke just kept coming closer.

Was it just Naruto or was the room suddenly hot and spinning? His cheeks felt like they were suffering from a terrible sunburn and his heart was beating like a drum being played by a hyper five year old. Things were only made worse by the swirling colors and shapes that took the place of the walls and people in the room.

_This must be another dream_, Naruto told himself as Sasuke leaned in closer, his body leaning over Naruto's and his face only inches away from the blonde's causing Naruto to lower his gaze.

_I want my personal bubble back!_ Naruto cried internally.

"I just…" Sasuke trailed off, letting his whispered words tickle Naruto's ear. "I get jealous so easily, and I want you all to my self."

Was this what "melting" was supposed to feel like? The warmth that had consumed Naruto's body and slowly loosened his muscles and made them feel like liquid? As the old saying went, he was putty in Sasuke's hands.

Or he would have been if he had not been staring into Sasuke's eyes.

For a moment Sasuke had Naruto believing him but when Naruto finally worked up the strength and courage to look Sasuke in the eyes his body became cold and hollow, like Sasuke's eyes.

Those back eyes that seemed so strange held no emotion in them. Not even a hint of the mischievousness that Naruto had seen in them seconds ago remained. They were empty and blank.

"You need to work on your face," Naruto bluntly said.

Sasuke looked unfazed, and then as if comprehending he frowned and pulled away from Naruto.

"You're a drama student so shouldn't you be able to make any facial expression?" Naruto asked. A part of him knew he should have worded his question better but he had never been one to put too much thought in a conversation. "I mean I could understand if this was the beginning of the school year but-"

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Sasuke tuned Naruto out as he pondered what had just happened.

He was flawless when it came to acting jealous, but instead of acting jealous and angry he had tried to be a playful, passionate, and a lustful kind of a jealous boyfriend. He had been able to act the part of playful out perfectly, he could tell by the blush that had stained Naruto's cheeks that he had been successful with that, but after that something went wrong with his face.

His words and voice had been fine. Even his body language had been perfect, but his face had failed him.

And he didn't take a lot of pride in acting playful because he had been using his ability to act sadistic to help him act the part. If Sasuke hadn't known how to be sadistic he would have never gotten the playful part down.

This was not good.

Kakashi had been right.

"Hey, are you listening?"

A hand was waved in Sasuke face and he glared at it. He let his glare travel up the arm connected to the hand and let his gaze fall on the smiling face of Naruto, the idiot.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted.

"Hey!" Naruto cried out indignantly. "You can't answer like that after you practically molested me!"

Sasuke snorted softly in an attempt to hold back a chuckle. Naruto was quite amusing. What made Naruto think he had to act in any certain way after what he had done?

Childish, that was the word Sasuke decided that described Naruto at the moment.

"Fine be like that!" Naruto huffed and grabbed Sasuke's water bottle off the table and without warning, softly whacked Sasuke on top of the head with it.

"…"

_What the…?_ Sasuke's brain supplied but had no other words.

Not even the combination of his acting experience and life experience could tell him how to react to this situation. Never had he been, or seen, someone whacked on the head by their own water bottle.

Naturally Sasuke thought about punching Naruto in retaliation but he knew that would not look good for the image the two of them were trying to create, and besides, he couldn't bring himself to do such a thing.

Naruto was doubled over and laughing, causing little tears to gather in the corners of his eyes. He kept trying to say something in between laughs but he failed. All Sasuke could make out was, "Expression" and "Priceless".

Sasuke looked away from the happy Naruto and frowned in concentration. Had he made a funny face? Was that why Naruto was laughing? But Sasuke couldn't remember making any expression.

Sasuke cursed.

If he did not know what expression he had used then he would not be able to add it to his acting skills.

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto laughed as he gently placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder to get the other boy's attention. "Can we please go get lunch? You seated us so fast that neither of us got to buy lunch."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Naruto sighed as he put down his pencil. He had been working for the last three hours on his literature homework and what he had to show for it was a page of random scribbles and jotted down thoughts. Since day one his teacher had been encourage him and his classmates to think deeply but Naruto could not do it. He tried and tried and all he got was a bunch of contradictions that didn't make sense.

At least Jiraiya wasn't home for the night. One of his friends was having some family problems and Jiraiya was staying the night at his house until his friend no longer needed his help and support.

Naruto knew it was wrong of him to be happy about someone else's misfortune but he couldn't help it. He wasn't ready to explain things to Jiraiya. Jiraiya was pretty open-minded but Naruto would bet Jiraiya was the last person on earth who expected to see Naruto with another guy romantically.

As Naruto sulked over his current situation the house phone rang.

Half heartedly reaching for the cordless phone on his desk, Naruto pressed the talk button and held the silver colored phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"You never told me you liked guys!" Kiba's voice yelled into Naruto's ear, and Naruto flinched.

"What? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, completely forgetting his article for the moment.

"I saw you and Sasuke in the cafeteria!" Kiba shouted, accusation lacing his voice with a hint of hurt. "Why didn't you tell me you liked guys? I don't care if you're gay or bisexual, but you could have at least told me!"

"Now hold on," Naruto shouted into the phone, holding his free hand up to silence Kiba even though the other teen could not possibly see the action. "What makes you say I'm gay or bisexual?"

"The cafeteria!" Kiba yelled into the phone and Naruto heard someone shush Kiba in the background. Lowering his voice, Kiba went on. "I saw Sasuke practically jump on top of you. I was about to go over to your table and pull him off of you when I noticed that you weren't struggling. Why didn't you tell me? I thought we were friends."

Kiba's words stabbed Naruto in the heart. "Of course we're friends," Naruto said, unable to hide the hurt in his voice. "And I didn't tell you because…"

Naruto trailed off.

He couldn't tell Kiba it was all an act. If he told Kiba he might tell someone else. Kiba would never intentionally tell someone but if someone started picking on Naruto then Kiba would do whatever it would take to make that person stop, even reveal Naruto's secret.

Naruto had to keep his article a secret or else he would never be able to write it.

Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his messy blond hair. "…I didn't tell you because I only discovered it recently. You know I have been crushing on Sakura for years but suddenly I sat next to Sasuke and felt like a lovesick fool."

Naruto felt sick with himself. He wanted so desperately to vomit.

Now he really was keeping things from Kiba.

X.X.X.X.X.X.

**Author Chat:** Do I sense the beginning of some drama? I could be or I might be picking up on the drama going on in my life. My mother recently accused me of some things and then searched through my old computer. Currently I do not know what she has found and I only know this thanks to her complaining to my best friend's father. Do not worry though readers. If she has a problem with what I am writing then that is her problem and no one else's. I am not ashamed of what I write or what I have written (though I should probably go through and edit a few old stories).

**Super Special Awesome "Preview":** Naruto is earlier for school and meets his first fangirl! If only he could run away! And he really is going to need to run when Sasuke gets his hands on him. Poor Naruto… if only he didn't know the answer to a math problem.

**Question:** So do you guys like the "previews"? I want to know because if no one likes them and rather have me never put another "preview" in again then I'd like to do so. Granted, if only one person wants that but two others want me to keep the previews then I'll keep the previews.


	6. What Really Matters

Chapter 6

What Really Matters

For the first time in his life Naruto was early for school. Okay, maybe yesterday he was a little earlier than usual but today he was _extremely_ early. The sun had barely risen and he was wishing that he had brought a jacket even though it was spring and summer was not too far away.

After Kiba's phone call the other night Naruto didn't want to walk to school with Sasuke. It had been embarrassing the other day but it would be worse after the event that happened at lunch.

Naruto sighed forlornly while he hugged himself to keep warm. Good thing he was walking around school campus or else he'd be an icicle. He'd have to remember to thank the person he told him moving about keeps the body warm—probably a Gym teacher told at one point or another. Now if only the problems he were facing were as easy to solve as walking around when cold.

He had to wonder why was he doing this project. He knew the original thought behind doing the project but why had it seemed like a great idea at the time? It wasn't even two days and he hated it. Maybe he should just quit?

Naruto shook his head. He couldn't believe what he had just thought. He wasn't a quitter. He never quit no matter how hard things got.

"Oh my god!" A girlish, whispered squeal penetrated Naruto's thoughts, and he looked up from the ground, taking note that he was walking under the library archway. He turned his head slightly to the left, the direction the sound had come from and frowned at the sight of the daydreaming girl from his math class and another girl with her. They were sitting on a low window seat built for outdoor usage.

Naruto's frown was originally for seeing the daydreaming girl again but then he saw something on the other girls wrist that made him shudder: a black, plastic band with the words "I heart yaoi" on it.

Yaoi fangirl!

Naruto's heart jumped out of his chest and up to his throat. He was frozen to the spot even though his muscles twitched and begged for movement.

The fangirl was petite and held what Naruto assumed was a pokemon plushie to her side. She was dressed in clothes that were supposed to be fancy and pretty but on her small form they looked unfitting. Her face was alight in happiness and as she took a step forward Naruto swore she was going to come up and talk to him.

Then like the goddess that Naruto had not realized the daydreamer girl was, she called the yaoi fangirl's name and frowned. Naruto barely listened as the daydreamer girl tried to reign in her shorter friend.

Naruto watched as the short yaoi fangirl started getting upset at the daydreamer's words. He was beginning to get worried when the daydreamer girl locked eyes with him. He didn't need to be telepathic to know what she was thinking.

"_Run fool! This isn't just any fangirl! This is rabid one. She's like gum stuck to your shoe. Once she's on you she is on for good and no matter how nicely you try to tell her you don't like her, and you would like for her to leave you alone she will stay. Look at me if you need your evidence! I spend most my time daydreaming now because of this loon! Run boy! Run! Go to a place where gay men run free and if there are any yaoi fangirls nearby they are calm and collected about their little fetish! RUN!"_

Naruto needed no other words of encouragement.

He ran. He ran as fast as he could and almost soiled himself when he heard the yaoi fangirl give chase.

Why hadn't he walked to school with Sasuke?

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

"Uh… hey?" Sasuke heard Naruto greet him nervously.

Sasuke did not respond. He had woken up early to walk Naruto to school only to find that his fake boyfriend was not there.

There were many things in the world that annoyed Sasuke Uchiha and one of those many things was wasting his time. This dislike was a common trait among his family and he proudly carried it. As the saying goes, "Time is money" and as a future businessman Sasuke could not afford to waste time.

With this thought in mind Sasuke decided to ignore Naruto for a while (he couldn't very well do it all day if they wanted to keep their act up). The logic behind this decision was very simple: Sasuke wasted time on Naruto in the morning; in order to get that time back Sasuke must take time away from what he would have normally spent on Naruto, such as the time it took for him to greet his false love.

"Look I'm sorry about not being there this morning. You see…"

Sasuke didn't bother to listen to the nervous blond. He didn't even bother to glance up from his warm up math problems to look at Naruto. He may not have known Naruto for long but he had seen Naruto's type. He most likely had a sheepish grin on his face and was rubbing the back of his head in a nervous fashion with one of his hands.

So predictable.

"…I hope you can forgive me."

Silence greeted Naruto's sentence.

And of course the next thing Naruto would do would be to look away in shame and then quietly take his seat next to Sasuke, all the while riddled with guilt.

Or so Sasuke had thought.

Two tan hands slammed down on his desk, effectively covering his warm up problems.

Sasuke scrunched up his forehead and frowned. Now that wasn't what he had expected. Had Naruto really just slammed his hands on Sasuke's desk?

Sasuke slowly raised his gaze so he was looking Naruto in the eye. Blue eyes of fury stared back at him causing Sasuke to feel bemused briefly.

Though Naruto reacted in a different way than expected his reaction wasn't too shocking. A lot of people would have had the same reaction as Naruto in a normal situation but only a handful of people would stand up to an Uchiha and that's why Sasuke hadn't expected it.

"Listen, I said I was sorry. I know I was wrong but you have to realize that if you want to make this _situation_," Naruto stressed the word so Sasuke would understand what the situation was while hiding it from others, "easier then you have to give a little."

For a moment Sasuke felt irked. Handholding and walking to school with someone in morning was giving in Sasuke's point of view. If anything he was the one doing all of the giving while Naruto, who had been the one to come up with this _brilliant_ idea, gave nothing.

However any feeling of ire left Sasuke when Naruto leaned down so his face was mere inches away from his and whispered, "And I am not talking about handholding and walking me to school. Those things are nice but they don't make things easier. What will make things easier is if you can swallow your pride for a moment and understand that I am different from you and may not be able to adjust to this kind of lifestyle as fast as you."

Silence.

Sasuke could tell by how Naruto kept his face close that he was waiting for a response from him but Sasuke wasn't ready talk. Naruto had a point but that did not mean Naruto's actions were any less offensive in the Uchiha's eyes.

Did Naruto even know who the Uchiha family was?

Sasuke remembered how Naruto approached him with the offer to be fake boyfriends. Naruto had seemed to have no interest in the Uchiha name and that had appealed to Sasuke; it was for that reason that Sasuke listened to Naruto for as long as he had.

"Well?" Naruto prompted, pulling back a few inches to give Sasuke space.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. He wasn't ready to talk but after hearing what Naruto had to say he felt that he should at least ease up a bit on his fake boyfriend.

The grunt was enough for Naruto. He smiled, and the smile beamed, causing Sasuke to feel something weird in his chest. He couldn't describe the feeling but if he had to try he would say it was bittersweet. It hurt but it was good kind of pain, as if he had been holding his breath for a long time and was finally releasing it.

Naruto removed his hands from Sasuke's desk and slid carelessly into his desk, the smile never leaving his face.

Seconds ticked by and Sasuke couldn't stop staring.

Was it possible for someone not to know about the Uchiha name and the power it carried in the business world? Was it possible for someone with knowledge of the Uchiha name to be able to stand up to an Uchiha?

In Sasuke's mind the answers to those questions were no, but that was incorrect.

Somehow Naruto had accomplished one of the impossibilities.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

"Looks like this is a pass on question," Mr. Smiley's voice was laced with a laugh as he smiled.

For once math class was actually fun. Instead of studying Mr. Smiley was letting the class play a game of jeopardy, math style. He was especially enjoying the game because as a member of a group came up to the whiteboard to answer the question, less than half of the time that team member would fail to answer correctly.

Mr. Smiley didn't enjoy seeing his students fail because he was a cruel man but because he loved math, and so he loved challenging himself and others with questions.

"Does this look right?" Sakura, a member of Naruto's team leaned closer to his other teammate Sai and showed him her notebook.

Naruto wasn't sure if he liked the fact that he had been put in a group of four with Sasuke, Sakura, and Sai. His teammates were all fairly intelligent students and passing the class with high scores, and that was great but their combined intellect made Naruto self-conscious. He felt like an outsider and the fact that all of his teammates names began with the letters S and A didn't help.

"It looks right," Sai answered Sakura as he glanced between her notebook and his.

Naruto felt a pang of jealousy as he watched Sai and Sakura interact. If only he could remember how to solve trig functions then he could be involved in their conversation.

"Did you get anything Sasuke?" Sakura asked Sasuke, a small blush staining her cheeks as she stared at Sasuke from across the square the four teens had formed with their desks.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

"Uh Sasuke?"

Naruto laughed as Sakura stared helplessly at Sasuke who was repeatedly pressing the one and zero button on his TI-83 calculator. Sasuke had started punching in those numbers repeatedly after he finished his warm up and he wouldn't stop for anything. It was as if he was addicted.

"If the teacher calls on you to answer a question you better be able to solve it," Sai warned but Naruto knew that Sai was only saying the warning because he knew that would be the proper response in this situation. Truthfully Sai didn't care f the team won or lost at Jeopardy.

"Whatever," Sasuke mumbled while continuing to push his calculator's buttons.

"What are you doing Sasuke?" Naruto whispered from his seat next to Sasuke so no one could hear. He barely noticed when another group answered the question when a different group had failed to answer.

Sasuke shrugged. "Matrix."

"Matrix?" Naruto repeated in a hushed whisper and frowned.

Sasuke stopped pushing the buttons on his calculator and pushed it towards Naruto, but still keeping the contraption on his desk.

Naruto was stunned at first. Had he really managed to make Sasuke stop punching in numbers on his calculator when no one else could?

Then Sasuke reached over and hit the "Delete" button and Naruto felt his eyes widen in shock and delight. He watched as ones and zeros flashed across the screen of the calculator like one of the scene in the Matrix. It was one of the coolest things Naruto had ever seen and the one to show it to him was Sasuke.

"That's awesome," Naruto told Sasuke when the numbers stopped flashing across the screen.

"Hn."

Naruto chuckled at Sasuke's response. He should have known Sasuke would react like what he had done was nothing.

"Okay class," Mr. Smiley called out to the class as a student took her seat with a defeated look. "This question is open up to everyone. Does anyone know the answer?"

Naruto looked at the question on the board and felt like kicking himself. The question had to do with graph symmetry, which he had been good at when he had learned it four months ago but he couldn't remember how to do it now.

If only he could remember how to test an equation for graph symmetry.

"It's a circle," Sasuke mumbled to himself but Naruto heard him.

"What?" Naruto asked, feeling hope in his chest. Maybe Sasuke would be nice enough to help him?

Sasuke sighed. "The equation on the board is the equation for a circle. Please tell me you at least know the symmetry of a circle."

Naruto jumped from his seat and raised his hand high in the air, causing everyone in the classroom to have a near heart attack. No one could believe that Naruto might try to solve the equation. "I know the answer teacher!" He shouted.

"W-what is it, Naruto?" Mr. Smiley stuttered, still recovering from the shock of Naruto's surprising outburst.

Naruto smirked and pointed at the equation on the board. "That is the equation of a circle and a circle has every type of symmetry!"

Mr. Smiley grinned from ear to ear and opened his mouth to speak when someone cut him off.

"The fag is wrong!"

Somewhere in the back of his mind Naruto knew that this was the classic movie scene where everyone would gasp and then the camera would focus in on the person who had said the hurtful phrase. However this wasn't anything like the movies. No one gasped; no one talked either; everyone was in shock at the bold statement. The kid who had spoken did not stand up and take credit for his statement.

Naruto had been caught off guard by the statement so much he wasn't able to place the male voice to a face. He was pretty sure the voice had come from the left side of the room, but he wasn't confident enough to single anyone out.

"Who said that?" Mr. Smiley demanded, actually demanded from his students! Mr. Smiley wasn't a teacher who demanded anything from his students. He usually treated them with the highest respect a teacher could give its students and only _asked_ of his students.

No one answered, but a good portion of the class lowered their gazes.

It irked Naruto.

It was hard to explain why his classmates' reactions angered him but Naruto felt furious. These people had been his classmates for seven months now and instead of being angered or saddened by what someone had just said to Naruto they just turned their gazes away and wished for the problem to go away. Naruto didn't expect his classmates to defend him but he didn't expect them to abandon him either.

Then there was the jerk who had said those harmful words. How dare he not stand up and face Naruto instead of hiding in a corner. If he was going to state his opinion then the least he could do is defend his opinion in front of Naruto.

"Someone better tell me who insulted Naruto," Mr. Smiley spoke through gritted teeth, his normally warm and caring eyes turning cold and judgmental.

When the room remained silent Naruto lost it. He shot up in his seat and slammed his hands down on his desk. Using a scowl and one of his best glares, Naruto managed to make a few students shiver as he let his eyes scan over the room for any signs of who had called him a fag.

"Stop being a dick and show yourself!"

"Language, Naruto," Mr. Smiley hissed warningly but his anger was directed more at the other students than Naruto.

"Forget language and manners!" Naruto shouted, clenching one of his hands into fists so he wouldn't physically lash out at anyone. He was so angry he just wanted to smash a brick wall with his bare hands. "If they think my answer is wrong then fine! But don't call me a 'fag'! What does my sexuality have to do with anything?"

Instantly murmurs began to flutter across the classroom. As Naruto listened to the whispered conversations he picked up some disturbing sentences.

"Ew. I didn't know he _really_ was one."

"Another goes to the dark side. Soon girls will be left with only the impaired and other girls. How annoying."

"So that must have been him in the cafeteria the other day. Can't their kind learn to stop making out in front of everyone?"

"Do you think he is bottom or top?"

"_Great_. Now we're going to have a lecture on gay rights and how gays are people too. Wake me up when the lecture is over."

"Glad I'm not sitting next to him."

Naruto felt his body shake with repressed rage. Why were they so focused on his sexuality? He had just been insulted and had made it very clear that the insult had upset him for a very similar reason.

"I can't believe you guys," Naruto whispered below his breath as he lowered his head and looked away from the classmates he had hoped would be a bit more understanding.

"You better take note of this."

Naruto's head snapped up at the familiar voice that had whispered to him. He looked to his side to fid Sasuke giving him a side glance as he glared at the kids in the classroom, who were still whispering among themselves.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto felt his voice crack as he asked the question. The crack in his voice shocked him. The overwhelming feeling of his emotions had caused the crack in his voice. He hadn't known he had been affected so strongly by his classmates' reactions.

"This is the kind of situation you should write about in your article," Sasuke stated, never taking his hateful stare off of his classmates.

"You mean the fact that everyone is so focused on my sexuality that they totally forget that I have just been insulted and hurt?" Naruto asked bitterly, and cursed when he felt his eyes began to sting.

He wasn't really going to cry, was he? He couldn't cry, not now at least. He didn't want to give the one who had insulted him the pleasure of seeing his pain.

_Bang._

Naruto blinked and stared in wonderment at Sasuke.

Sasuke was no longer glaring at his classmates but staring wide, in terror, at Naruto. The "bang" earlier was caused by Sasuke slamming his chair, without getting out of it, into the wall near him.

Naruto blinked a second time and tried to formulate a reason for Sasuke's action in his head.

"You're not crying are you?" Sasuke whispered in horror.

"Wha-" was all Naruto got out of his mouth before Mr. Smiley cut him off.

"Sasuke Uchiha! Are you the one who insulted Naruto?" Mr. Smiley asked sharply.

Under normal circumstances Naruto would be confused as to why Mr. Smiley would ask Sasuke of all people if he had called Naruto a fag but because of Sasuke's look of horror and his hastiness to get himself as far away as possible from Naruto, the blond couldn't really blame Mr. Smiley for assuming such a thing. Heck, if Naruto hadn't been close enough to hear what Sasuke had whispered than he would have thought the same thing.

"Don't worry," Naruto hoped to wave off Mr. Smiley's concern. "Sasuke didn't insult me."

"How can you be so sure, Naruto?" Mr. Smiley asked, not quite ready to believe Naruto.

The words were out of Naruto's mouth before he could think about them. "Because he is my boyfriend."

Naruto gasped and covered his mouth with his hands.

He hadn't really said that, had he?

Naruto looked around the classroom and every student's eyes kept going back and forth between him and Sasuke.

Naruto gulped. This wasn't good.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

**Where Were You Akira? (Or "Why Did I Have To Wait So Long?"):** Let's see, I had to travel down south for a little bit, then I had to play hostess with my relatives, followed by a trip to the mountains, then the woods, which took me to a river that I fell in, and finally I was back in a place with internet access. So how were the past two weeks for you?

**What's Up with Sasuke?:** Sasuke's reaction to Naruto acting like he was about to cry may seem weird but it will be explained in a later chapter.

**Question**: So how many of you know what I am alluding to when I use the phrase "Super Special Awesome"? Does anyone not know and would like to know?

**Super Special Awesome "Preview":** Naruto really should learn to pay more attention to his surroundings when standing in front of a fridge, especially when Sasuke is hungry. Now if only Jiraiya had worse timing.


	7. Passion

Chapter 7

Passion

"I'm sorry," Naruto mumbled with his head hanging low as Sasuke walked him home. Now Sasuke was going to suffer because he couldn't keep his big mouth shut. Why had he told everyone that Sasuke was his boyfriend? He was so stupid.

Beside him Sasuke shrugged. "It doesn't matter. The plan was to make everyone think you're gay by 'dating' me. In other words, they were going to find out eventually."

Naruto blinked as what Sasuke said sunk in. Sasuke was right. He had forgotten that making everyone believe Sasuke was his boyfriend was crucial to his plan. He just felt bad that Sasuke may have to go through the humiliation of being called a "fag" in front of everyone like he had been earlier that day. He hadn't thought about how his article would affect Sasuke.

Feeling like the lowest scum on earth, Naruto glued his gaze to his feet and let Sasuke's shadow be his guide through the twisting and turning streets.

"You're awfully quiet," Sasuke observed as he turned a corner and lead Naruto up a familiar driveway.

Keeping his gaze locked on his feet, Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. What could he say to that? He was being quiet. He wanted to say something to Sasuke but he didn't know what. He didn't know Sasuke well enough to start a conversation out of the blue.

"Are you going to just stand there or unlock the door, Dobe?" Sasuke asked, the tiniest hint of annoyance leaking into his voice as he stopped and stood outside Naruto's door.

X.X.X.X.X.X.

Sasuke watched in silent frustration as Naruto pulled a key out of his jean pocket and slowly, slower than a slug as far as Sasuke was concerned, put his key in the lock, turned it, and opened the door. It felt like he had been waiting for an hour for Naruto to do such a simple action and it angered him beyond anything.

It wasn't that Naruto was being slow but what his slow actions meant. He didn't know Naruto that well but from what he had seen, Naruto was a big ball of energy that rarely moved slowly. Naruto's slow movements were clearly signs of wandering thoughts and possibly negative emotions, which was the last thing Sasuke wanted. He needed Naruto to be in a positive mood if he was ever going to be able to have more character ranges.

That's why when Naruto slid past him into the house and was about to shut the door Sasuke grabbed a hold of the door and stopped it from closing.

Naruto looked at him for the first time since he was insulted in their math class earlier that day. His blue eyes shone with confusion but at the same time there was another emotion in those eyes that Sasuke did not recognize. He wanted to know what that emotion was. Maybe if he knew what the emotion was then maybe he could use it to improve his acting.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, his confusion dominating his facial expression but Sasuke could still see some of that other emotion. "Is something wrong?"

Sasuke smirked. A part of him wished to attempt a flirtatious smile but he didn't trust his acting abilities to pull it off just yet and since he wanted into Naruto's house, he couldn't let his lack of acting skills get in the way. He knew his smirk was that of a predator but Naruto didn't seem to mind as a pink tint grew on his cheeks.

"Idiot," Sasuke said as he slid through the doorway and closed the door behind him, leaving Naruto to stare at him in what Sasuke guessed was awe. Perhaps Naruto was awed by Sasuke's boldness? Sasuke himself was intrigued by his own actions. It felt natural to act like some kind of predator around Naruto, and he loved the reactions he received from Naruto for doing so.

"I'm not an idiot," Naruto huffed and crossed his arms over his chest in defiance.

The act pleased Sasuke. Naruto was returning to his normal state, but now that Sasuke had started playing the role of a predator he couldn't stop. He took a step closer to Naruto.

He had expected the blond to take a step back but instead Naruto stood there, daring Sasuke with his eyes to try to take another step closer, and who was Sasuke to deny Naruto anything? He moved closer and this time Naruto did move away but not like how Sasuke had expected his prey to. He had expected Naruto to take a step backwards but that wasn't meant to be.

Sighing in irritation, Naruto spun on his heel, turned his back to Sasuke, and walked away from him. Haphazardly, Naruto slid his backpack off and threw it to a random corner of the room before entering a different room that looked like it was the kitchen from Sasuke's angle. "Come on, Teme," Naruto called from the other room. "I'll see if I can find anything for you to eat or drink."

"Oh I know what I want to eat, Naruto," Sasuke said with such confidence and mischievousness he almost wondered if he had really said it. The line had purely been a slip of the tongue. He had been so wrapped up in the role he was playing he hadn't even known what he'd meant, but sudden images overpowered his senses and he realized exactly what he wanted.

So this was lust, was it? This heat in the pit of his stomach that made him desire to touch and be touched back; what an interesting feeling this emotion was. It actually felt as if gravity were pulling him towards Naruto.

As Sasuke entered the kitchen, the smirk he had been wearing transformed into a smile of amusement as he watched Naruto rummage through the refrigerator. Naruto was so focused on trying to find Sasuke something to eat that he was oblivious to Sasuke's presence and in his lustful state, Sasuke found that little fact adorable.

He was definitely in a lust filled state if he was using the word "adorable" to describe Naruto. The boy wasn't ugly but he wasn't exactly attractive either.

"So what do you want, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, finally tearing his gaze away from the fridge, only to jump an inch when he noticed how close Sasuke was standing next to him. "When did you get so close?"

Sasuke ignored the question and scanned the room in search of something. He was pleased to see the kitchen was combined with the living room, and that Naruto's couch wasn't too far away. He wasn't pleased to see that it was run down and had holes in it but he pushed the couch's faults to the back of his mind as he grabbed Naruto by the arm and lead the blond to the piece of furniture.

"Teme! What is going on?! Why are you taking me over to the couch?" Naruto screamed as he struggled to break out of Sasuke's grip but failed miserably.

Sasuke had always_ thought_ he was a sadist but as Naruto struggled against his hold, he _knew_ he was one as he felt himself harden. He could barely contain himself as he roughly threw Naruto on the couch.

The younger boy fell with an "Umph!" and landed on his back. He stared up at Sasuke in fear and confusion. He opened his mouth to speak and that was when Sasuke pounced.

He lay his body against Naruto's and pressed his lips feverishly against Naruto's soft, unsuspecting ones. Naruto's immediate reaction was to try and remove Sasuke from his body by bucking upwards, but his actions only made Sasuke harder. Sasuke pressed his body firmly against Naruto's, sending Naruto into a frozen state.

Naruto's body lay unresponsive to him and Sasuke felt a growl growing in the back of his throat in agitation. Giving Naruto's bottom lip a soft bite he managed to open the blonde's mouth and shove his tongue into that hot, sweet, moist cavern.

He pressed his body against Naruto's and smirked as he felt Naruto's manhood responding to the pressure.

Using one hand to keep his body propped up, Sasuke let his other hand run slowly up and down Naruto's chest. The blond bucked beneath him and Sasuke let his hand sneak under Naruto's shirt, earning a gasp from Naruto.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Naruto blushed as he gasped in the middle of his kiss with Sasuke.

He felt so hot and just wanted to press himself closer to the one making him feel this way, but a voice in the back of his head wouldn't let him.

Even in his foggy, lust filled mental state Naruto couldn't let go of the fact that he wasn't _really_ gay. This was just for the newspaper article he had to write. He wasn't supposed to have any sexual feelings for Sasuke. He wasn't supposed to be enjoying Sasuke's touch as much as he was.

But those cool fingers that teased his chest made him want to reach out, grab a hold of Sasuke and press their bodies closer together, but he couldn't.

He was greatly disappointed when those wonderful fingers left his chest. He would have whimpered if it wouldn't make him seem less manly.

Then it happened. Sasuke hand that had been touching his chest so tenderly was suddenly on top of his crotch and a new wave of heat hit him. He moaned and without realizing what he was doing, he broke the kiss he was sharing with Sasuke and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's back, pressing himself closer.

It felt so good and wonderful.

If only the sound of a door clicking into place hadn't pulled Naruto out of his moment of ecstasy.

Pulling away from Sasuke and looking into the older boys' stare he could still see the haze of lust in Sasuke's black eyes, causing Naruto to shudder in pleasure. There was no way they could hide their current lustful state but the last thing Naruto wanted was to be caught with his _problem_.

Thinking fast, Naruto shoved Sasuke off of him and grabbed a blue blanket that was kept on the side of the couch in case whoever was using the couch got cold.

Sasuke had placed as much space between him and Naruto as possible without removing himself from the couch. Launching himself at Sasuke, Naruto tackled the older boy down so Sasuke was lying with his back pressed against the couch and Naruto was lying on top of Sassuke on his stomach. He then draped the blanket over them and buried his head against Sasuke's chest and closed his eyes as if he were sleeping.

Naruto hoped Sasuke would catch on and pretend to be asleep too.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya's voice echoed throughout the house. "I'm only here to pick up a few things so come out so I can talk to you about that kid from the other day."

Naruto didn't respond. He was a heavy sleeper so it would make sense if he didn't respond to Jiraiya's call the first time. Naruto listened as Jiraiya's footsteps approached the living room/kitchen area.

"Narut- Oh!" Jiraiya trailed off as he entered the room.

Naruto could feel Jiraiya staring –no, gawking, at him.

Yes, he was currently asleep on a guy who claimed to be his boyfriend, was that a crime?

Praying that his eyes didn't look anything like how Sasuke's had looked a moment ago, Naruto yawned, turned his head enough so he was facing Jiraiya, and opened his eyes. He blinked a couple of times to clear his vision and stared at Jiraiya as if he were confused, which on some level he was. "Jiraiya? Why are you here? I thought you were helping a friend for a few days."

Jiraiya's gaze moved to a place slightly above the blonde's head and Naruto followed it.

Sasuke had his eyes closed and looked as if he were peacefully asleep. In fact, Naruto wouldn't be surprised if the young man WAS sleeping.

Jiraiya cleared his throat and Naruto looked back at his guardian who was wearing a look of concern. "You have never shown interest in boys before, Naruto."

Maybe it was Jiraiya's tone but Naruto felt defensive about the comment. So what if he had never shown interests in boys before. He had never really interacted with Sasuke before and Sasuke was different from any other boy he'd ever known and-

Naruto stopped himself from thinking that last thought. He was starting to sound like he actually had feelings for Sasuke. Yes, Sasuke was different, but that didn't mean Sasuke was someone he was attracted to.

"No one is quite like Sasuke," Naruto answered, and unconsciously wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist.

Jiraiya nodded his head in understanding, but the frown of disapproval on his face would not leave. "Sasuke is different, Naruto, but do you know what makes him really different?"

Naruto stared at Jiraiya. What was he trying to get at? Was there something about Sasuke he didn't know?

Attempting to answer the question, Naruto said sheepishly, "He has freaky colored eyes?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "That may be true, but-"

Jiraiya was cut off when Sasuke suddenly moved. With a grunt, Sasuke sat up and stretched, causing Naruto's upper body to rise a bit with him because of their current position.

As Naruto felt Sasuke's muscle flex underneath his head he tried not to smile but couldn't help it. The sensation tickled Naruto's cheek, making him want to laugh but he stopped himself in fear of how Jiraiya would react.

Sasuke yawned and let his arms fall around Naruto's form in his lap. "Did I miss anything?" He asked, eyes not really focused on anyone or anything.

"Nothing," Naruto responded, trying to ignore the warmth coming off of Sasuke's arms. "Jiraiya is just being paranoid."

Jiraiya grunted as if to rebuke Naruto's comment, but he said nothing else. Instead he entered the kitchen section of the room, opened one of the cupboards overhead, and pulled out a brown paper bag that looked like it was holding something in it.

"I'll be leaving now Naruto," Jiraiya said with a wave of his hand and left the two teenage boys alone.

Naruto waited with baited breath for the sound of front door opening and closing to let him know that Jiraiya had left. Once he heard that glorious sound Naruto spun on Sasuke and glared at the older boy.

"What the heck was that!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in nonchalance.

"Don't give me that look! Why did you jump me a few minutes ago?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"Don't give me the silent treatment!" Naruto cried out in frustration and lightly punched Sasuke on the shoulder. "It's one thing to act like a couple in public but another to act like one in private! We only need to act like a couple in public!"

"Then we agree," Sasuke said.

"Yes," Naruto said, feeling like he accomplished something by making Sasuke talk.

"We need to go on a date tomorrow," Sasuke finished.

The blood drained out of Naruto's face. "You're joking, right?"

Sasuke smirked. "Couples go on dates, and dates are public," Sasuke reasoned. "As for why I decided to make out with you, we need to practice acting like a couple. I can't have you panicking when I try to kiss you in public so I need to kiss you in private first."

Not make him panic? Well, Sasuke had certainly failed in that area. Naruto was downright terrified of Sasuke now. He had to think of something –anything! –to get him out of this date.

"I have errands tomorrow!" Naruto blurted out.

"Good," Sasuke answered with a smirk. "I do too. We can do our errands together."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

**Responses To Unsigned Reviews:**

_JT_: Yup! "Super Special Awesome" comes from Yugioh The Abridged Series. I am glad you think this story is amusing so far. Though I have to say this story is going to start getting a bit more dramatic, but there should be some humor in it still.

_tysonandkai:_ You got the answer right too! Yay! And you even alluded to one of my favorite episodes! I love Duke and his theme music!

**And Who is This Lovely Creature?:** So did anyone sit down and as they were reading this chapter think, "Wow! Akira has made less spelling and grammar mistakes! Suddenly the writing is lot better!" If you did think that then please thank Runadaemon. Runa was very kind and offered to be my beta. She's done a marvelous job as far as I can tell and I know she has my thanks. Thank you Runa!

**The Reason Why I am Your Slave:** After posting the last chapter I was stunned to watch my e-mail account fill up with reviews. As I read each review I knew I had to get the next chapter out soon and so I began writing. I went to bed clutching my laptop to my chest (this angered my cat greatly) because I wanted to be able to write as soon as I woke up. So I just want to say thank you because last chapter is the most reviewed chapter so far and I really felt like I got to hear all of your opinions. I love hearing what others think, even if it is a simple, "Poor Naruto", "What jerks!", "What's next?" or "I love Yugioh the Abridged Series". I love knowing the thoughts of others so again: Thank you to everyone who let me know what was on their mind.

**Super Rare Awesome Chocolaty Fudged Coated Mega Super "Preview":** Naruto said he didn't want Sasuke actions to be dictated by what other couples do, maybe he should have thought about that a bit, because now he is in the hospital. Hey, wait... Sakura? Why is she making an appearance so suddenly? And why did Sasuke buy mice? Oh, and guess who has a cameo! ...for now at least.


	8. A Day of Errands and Questions

Chapter 8

A Day of Errands and Questions

"Stay still," Naruto grumbled in irritation as Sasuke shifted his body for the tenth time in an hour. It had taken Naruto a long time the previous night to come up with an idea for an errand to do today with Sasuke but he had finally found it. Naruto had been researching some colleges and found that most of them required students to take a certain shot before entering. Because he was still considered a minor Naruto would have to see his doctor first and get permission to get the shot.

Getting permission was the easy part. It was the waiting in line to get the shot that was difficult.

Sasuke shifted again, and Naruto scowled and pressed his head closer to Sasuke's side. Closing his eyes tighter, Naruto tried to fall asleep but Sasuke would not stop moving. "Will you stop moving?" Naruto growled through gritted teeth.

"We're sitting on a small wooden bench that has been designed to be uncomfortable for all who sit in it and your body weight is pushing me into the bench's arm, would you sit still in this situation?" Sasuke hissed in Naruto's ear and once again shifted.

"I just want to sleep," Naruto whined, adjusting his weight so he wasn't leaning on Sasuke as much. "Why did we wake up so early today? It's the weekend! We should be sleeping in on weekends."

Sasuke didn't respond verbally to Naruto's comment, but Naruto could feel the heated glare he was receiving from Sasuke.

Sasuke had been "kind" enough to explain to Naruto earlier why they had to wake up early. Naruto couldn't remember the exact details but it had something to do with making sure they had enough time to run all of their errands. Really, Naruto could care less what the reason was; he just wanted his precious sleep.

"How long 'til they call my name, you think?" Naruto mumbled, enjoying his personal Sasuke pillow. As much as Sasuke had a cold and distant personality he also had a wonderfully soft and warm body. The combination was a little humorous in Naruto's mind, especially since he knew Sasuke had muscles underneath the black T-shirt he was wearing. Weren't muscles _not_ supposed to be soft?

Naruto laughed mentally. Sasuke was just a weird person. Everything about him was weird and strange and Naruto had found he liked it. It used to make Naruto feel on edge around Sasuke, but the few days he'd recently spent with Sasuke made him realize he liked Sasuke's uniqueness. He had never met someone like Sasuke and somehow that made Sasuke a special person in his life.

Maybe after writing his article, Sasuke would be his friend. Granted, if Sasuke pounced on him like he had the other day, Naruto would have some issues.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" called a female voice that Naruto recognized.

Beneath his head, Naruto felt Sasuke stiffen. Whoever had called Naruto's name was someone the two were familiar with, but who?

Naruto let his eyes slide open and glance around the hospital room. He spotted a few random people waiting to get their shots but no one stood out. He looked at the doorway between the waiting room and the room where he would be given his shot and felt his heart flutter as he saw the girl of his dreams.

Sakura Haruno stood in the doorway with her hair tied back in a bun and wearing a scrub. Beside her stood another woman dressed in a similar fashion, but Naruto didn't pay attention to her. He was entranced by Sakura, who looked absolutely lovely in her simple outfit. In the back of his head he vaguely wondered why Sakura was at the hospital and dressed as a nurse but brushed the thought aside to admire the beautiful girl.

"Hi Naruto," Sakura smiled and waved when she caught sight of him. Her smile warmed Naruto's heart. If only Sasuke could smile like Sakura, then this fake dating thing would be a bit easier.

_Oh! Sasuke…_, Naruto remembered. He couldn't believe he had almost forgotten that Sasuke was with him. How could he forget about Sasuke when he was currently using the older boy as a pillow?

Glancing up at the older boy's face, Naruto felt a strange and foreign sense of disappointment when he saw a blank expression on Sasuke's face. He couldn't quite explain it, but he felt robbed of something. It was as if Sasuke was supposed to have an emotion on his face but someone had stolen it.

"And Sasuke is here too," Naruto heard Sakura say in amazement from her spot. "Wow! I rarely see any kids from school here."

Naruto was only half listening to Sakura. His attention was still focused on Sasuke's expressionless face. Naruto felt his own face frowning as he continued to see no emotions displayed on his fake boyfriend's features.

Naruto was startled when Sasuke turned his head slightly and gave him a pointed look. Clearly Sasuke had grown tired of Naruto's antics, or so Naruto had thought. Naruto's fear that he had upset Sasuke with his staring was washed away as Sasuke began to stand up, guiding Naruto's body to stand up with him and whispered so only Naruto could hear, "Your name was called. You better get in that room before they give away your shot to someone else."

Naruto nodded his head numbly and pivoted so he was facing Sakura, who was looking at the two boys with excitement glimmering in her eyes. It made Naruto feel a little self conscious to see Sakura staring at him like that. It wasn't as if Sakura wasn't happy to see him at school, but never had she looked as delighted as she did now. It made Naruto feel special.

Sasuke sighed in annoyance behind Naruto, and suddenly Naruto felt a warm hand wrapped around his own. He barely had time to register that it was Sasuke who had grabbed his hand before the older boy forcefully pulled him towards Sakura and the nurse.

Heat radiated off of Naruto's cheeks. "So what are you doing here?" Naruto asked Sakura, trying to distract her from the possible blush on his face.

If there was a blush on Naruto's face, Sakura was kind enough not to comment on it. "I volunteer here on weekends. I want to be a doctor when I am older so I figured, why not start working on my dream by volunteering at a hospital."

As Sakura explained herself she stood aside to let Naruto and Sasuke through the doorway and into the injection room.

The nurse let the teens talk with each other as she scrounged around the room for her needle and the vaccine she would put in it. She signaled for Naruto to take a seat in an uncomfortable looking chair with white, plastic coverings.

As Naruto took his seat, he noticed that Sasuke had yet to let go of his hand and that his fake boyfriend was standing extremely close, so close that the only thing separating Naruto from Sasuke was the arm of the chair. This caused Naruto to frown. He understood why Sasuke had taken his hand and led him into the room earlier, he would have done the same thing if he had been in Sasuke's position and impatient, but this was not needed.

"Sasuke," Naruto whined and shook his hand, trying to dislodge Sasuke's hand from his. "Knock it off. I'm not a little kid! I don't need you to hold my hand."

Like the stuck up prick that he is, Sasuke took one look at their interlocked hands and smiled like a wolf that had just caught a delicious rabbit. Just to spite Naruto he squeezed Naruto's hand. "I have a hard time believing you aren't a child when you whine like one."

"Teme," Naruto growled.

Sakura's giggle stopped the fight that was about to ensue. "You two are so funny together. No wonder you two are a couple. I was unsure how you two could be a couple at first, but I don't know... something about how you two interact makes me think of a bickering old couple."

"We can't be an old couple when we barely know anything about each other," Naruto grumbled under his breath.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing!" Naruto squeaked when he received a warning squeeze to his hand from Sasuke.

"Okay," The nurse said as she stood in front of Naruto with a syringe, "roll up your sleeve."

Naruto tried to do as instructed but it was rather difficult to do with one arm locked in place thanks to Sasuke holding his hand so tightly. "Teme! Let go!" Naruto gritted out between his teeth, but Naruto's frustration only fueled Sasuke's sadistic glee. Sasuke did not let go.

Sakura giggled, grabbed the end of Naruto's sleeve, and began rolling up Naruto's sleeve for him. "Here, let me help you. I never knew that Sasuke would be such a clingy person, but I guess when you are in love you act differently."

Naruto gave Sasuke a side glare. This wasn't love; this was pure sadistic torture!

"So Naruto," Sakura began as she took a wet cotton ball and cleaned the spot on Naruto's arm where the injection would go, "would you like to hang out with some of my friends and me tomorrow afternoon?"

Naruto swore he heard the hallelujah chorus. Sakura had asked him out! Sakura had asked him out! …and he was dating Sasuke…

_Nooooooo!_ Naruto cried internally. _This is unfair!_

"_We_," Sasuke emphasized the word, "don't mind 'hanging out' with you or your friends tomorrow. When and where?"

Naruto's jaw almost dropped but before it could the nurse snuck up in front of him and stabbed him with her needle. Naruto flinched at the feel of his skin being penetrated by the strange object.

"Oh?" Sakura said in surprise. "I'm sorry. I didn't think to invite you, Sasuke. If you don't mind going then you and Naruto can meet us at the Konoha mall tomorrow at noon."

_What are you doing!_ Naruto screamed mentally. _I thought you were an antisocial prick!_

"Very well," Sasuke said politely, and Naruto decided to give Sasuke a taste of his own medicine; he squeezed Sasuke's hand, making sure to dig his nails into his fake boyfriend's palm. Sasuke didn't react to the abusive treatment except by glancing down briefly for a second at Naruto.

_Don't ignore me!_ Naruto thought. _I want to go out with Sakura alone! Not with you! I hate you, you mean jerk!_

"_We only need to act like a couple in public!"_ Naruto remembered what he had said to Sasuke the other day and suddenly felt like he was the real jerk.

They had to act like a couple in public. Going to the mall with Sakura and her friends was the perfect way to trick people into thinking he and Sasuke were really in love with each other.

"All done," the nurse said and pulled the needle out of Naruto's arm, then took a few steps back to give him some space.

With his free hand Naruto rubbed his arm where he had been stabbed with the needle.

Somehow the sting of the needle made Naruto feel a little less displeased with himself. Still, there were some questions on his mind.

Why was he struggling so much with this? This was supposed to be his article but he kept forgetting that fact and kept doing things that would endanger it. Why did Sasuke have such an easy time pretending to be a couple?

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Sasuke felt himself smirk as Naruto gawked at his house.

"It's huge!" Naruto breathed out in awe, unbuckling his seatbelt.

Sasuke felt his pride swell up at Naruto's comment. He had been reluctant to show Naruto his house at first but the child-like curiosity and wonder Naruto displayed at the sight of his home made him feel happy inside. He didn't fully understand why, but he liked the thought of having Naruto's approval and awe. It made him feel as if he had accomplished something important.

Of course Naruto had to ruin the moment by opening his big mouth and saying, "I didn't know you were a spoiled rich kid."

A vein in Sasuke's forehead twitched. "Spoiled?"

Oblivious to his insult, Naruto smiled and opened the car door. "Yeah. You have a nice, fancy house and a fancy, red sports car. You're spoiled."

Unbuckling his seatbelt, Sasuke tried not punch Naruto. His fake boyfriend obviously didn't read the newspaper if he thought Sasuke was spoiled. Sasuke had worked hard to earn the money to buy his car. Admittedly he hadn't paid for the house, but then again, it wasn't his to own.

"So tell me, why did we go to the pet store to buy mice?" Naruto asked as he slid out of his seat and closed the car door behind him.

Sasuke quickly followed, making sure to grab the white box with little holes cut in it from its location between where Naruto had been sitting and where Sasuke was sitting. As Sasuke closed the car door behind him he smiled wickedly. "My brother asked me to buy diner for his snake. Do you want to watch the snake eat its meal?"

Naruto's reaction was priceless. Naruto seemed like the kind of person who did not like to see others suffer, including animals, and Sasuke had been right in that assumption. Naruto had frozen in place. His mouth was agape as he stared in horror at Sasuke.

"What?" Naruto asked, not ready to believe what Sasuke had said.

"These mice," Sasuke held up the box in one hand, showing it off to Naruto, "are for my brother's snake."

"H-how can you...?" Sasuke watched in amusement as Naruto stuttered and then trailed off. It was quite humorous how sensitive Naruto was being.

Putting on a mask of nonchalance, Sasuke shrugged and lowered the box. "Snakes need to eat." With that he spun on his heel and began walking up the driveway, listening carefully for Naruto's following footsteps. When he could hear Naruto following slowly behind him, Sasuke didn't waste any time opening the door to his home and walking inside.

He waited near the doorway for Naruto to enter. The blond was dragging his feet and Sasuke enjoyed it immensely. Normally Sasuke would have kept quiet about the mice's true purpose but because Naruto had decided to call him spoiled, he wanted revenge.

When Naruto was finally standing in his house, Sasuke carelessly closed the front door with the edge of his foot and began walking towards the staircase.

"No way!" Naruto cried in pleased shock, any negative emotion he was feeling before replaced by excitement. "You have a circular staircase! I've only seen those kinds of staircases in movies!"

Already on the first step of the staircase, Sasuke glanced over his shoulder to look at Naruto. The blonde's head would not stop moving. One moment he'd be looking at a lamp, the next a painting, and then at the carpet. His eyes shone with delight and curiosity as he looked around the front room of the house, taking in everything.

It reminded Sasuke of a child at its first carnival. It was rather endearing.

A muscle in Sasuke's mouth twitched and suddenly he was smiling, just purely smiling.

Pushing the box containing the mice into one hand, he used the other to cover his mouth.

He felt his eyes widening in horror as he realized he had been smiling because of Naruto but as horror-struck as he was, Sasuke could not remove the smile from his face.

What was he going to do?

He knew that he had agreed to dating Naruto so he would hopefully pick up on the positive boy's traits and apply it to his acting but he hadn't planned for this! Making out with Naruto was one thing; this was completely different!

Every teen experienced lust at one point or another; he just happened to be lustful when he was with Naruto the other day, but what he was feeling right now couldn't just be brushed off. He was a heartless bastard, he admitted it himself, and yet Naruto had managed to make him feel completely at ease and happy to the point where he had smiled! This was like a crummy fanfiction!

"Sasuke? What are you doing just standing on the stairs?" A calm, cool, collected, deep voice asked from the top of the staircase.

Turning his head to face the owner of the voice, Sasuke was not surprised to see his older brother, Itachi, standing with an eyebrow raised in a combination of curiosity and displeasure. With more grace than Sasuke thought was normal for a person to have, Itachi walked down the staircase until he was only a few steps away from Sasuke.

"I thought you said you had a business meeting this afternoon," Sasuke said, ignoring Itachi's question.

In return Itachi ignored Sasuke, preferring to stare at Naruto and causing the blond to smile nervously. "Who is your…" Itachi trailed off. His forehead scrunched up in thought as he tried to label Naruto. "…visitor?" Itachi finally settled on saying.

Jumping at the chance to humiliate himself, as Sasuke saw it, Naruto erased his nervous smile and replaced it with a cocky one. "I am Naruto Uzumaki! I'm Sasuke's boyfriend!"

Silence filled the air, and then slowly Itachi turned his gaze on Sasuke, who stared back at his brother, waiting for whatever Itachi had to say.

"The reporters are going to have a field day with this," Itachi said, no emotion in his voice.

Sasuke nodded his head in agreement. He knew that since day one, but right now he needed a perfect score in Drama and he was willing to deal with the tabloids to get it.

"Wait! What?" Naruto screamed in shock, drawing the two Uchiha men's gazes to him. "Why aren't you freaking out?" Naruto asked Itachi. "Aren't you concerned about your brother being gay?"

Sasuke sighed, understanding the motivation behind Naruto's actions. "Dobe here is trying to get revenge for when I told his dad, or whatever that old man is, that we're a couple." Sasuke explained to his brother.

Itachi nodded his head and took the box of mice out of Sasuke's hands. Without another word he turned around and left the two teens alone.

"What is going on?!" Naruto shouted in frustration. "That IS your brother, right? Why did he mention reporters? Where are your parents? Do they care if you're gay or not?"

Sasuke felt that vein in his forehead throb again. Couldn't Naruto be quiet for a second?

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke stepped off the staircase and walked past Naruto into the game room.

Sasuke vaguely wondered, like he had many other times before, why Itachi and him had a game room in their house. The two of them weren't really into games. However, Sasuke had to admit he liked the look of the room when he entered it.

There was a fairly large pool table in the center of the room with a card table placed in the farthest corner of the room. On the far wall was a cushy, black couch, with matching pillows. On each side of the couch was a small wooden box that held darts for the dart board hanging on one of the walls, decks of cards, and other games.

"You have a game room too!" Naruto cried behind Sasuke, making Sasuke want to spin around and punch the blond. Naruto was slowly growing on him but that didn't change the fact that Naruto was just too loud for his own good.

Naruto mumbled something under his breath and Sasuke ignored it. He walked over to the couch and took a seat, making sure to leave room for Naruto.

Understanding the silent invitation, Naruto followed Sasuke and took a seat next to him.

Seconds ticked by and Naruto just continued to glare at Sasuke with an angry scowl.

Sasuke ignored the look, knowing Naruto would crack and start talking eventually.

"Well…?" Naruto prompted, moving his face closer to Sasuke's but keeping enough distance between him and Sasuke in case the Uchiha attempted to do something inappropriate.

"'Well' what?" Sasuke feigned ignorance.

Naruto huffed, his annoyance clearly showing on his face. "Aren't you going to answer my questions?"

"And what would those be?"

"Teme," Naruto hissed and without warning, grabbed one of the couches pillows and smacked Sasuke in the face with it. "Stop being a jerk!"

Sasuke's head snapped to the side as the pillow made impact with his face. Naruto's attack caused Sasuke's checks to heat up from the more surprising than painful blow. Without thinking, Sasuke grabbed the pillow that Naruto had used as a weapon and threw it back at the blond.

The pillow hit Naruto square in the face and fell to the ground.

A brief noise of shock escaped Naruto's mouth and he grabbed his nose with both his hands. "Ow! That hurt! Jerk!"

"And who threw the pillow first?" Sasuke snapped, rubbing his sore check in the process.

"Whatever," Naruto said, and waved off what had just happened as if it were nothing. "So that guy was your brother, right? Why did he mention reporters? Where are your parents? Do they care if you're gay or not?"

Naruto truly was a wonder to Sasuke. He had managed to surprise Sasuke more than once, and surprising Sasuke once was a feat of its own. How Naruto managed to surprise Sasuke more than once was amazing in Sasuke's eyes. How could someone be so unpredictable?

That also made Sasuke wonder how Naruto was able to jump from one emotion to another. Naruto had been angry just seconds ago but now he was… calm? No, that wasn't it. Naruto was curious but not in that child-like quality that Sasuke had seen earlier. He simply wanted knowledge, and Sasuke was the one holding the knowledge Naruto desired.

"So…?" Naruto prompted once again, locking eyes with Sasuke. He was silently challenging Sasuke to avoid answering his questions.

Sasuke felt himself beginning to smile and looked away from Naruto. He feigned humming in thought and willed his smile to transform into a knowing smirk. Once he had his smirk in place, Sasuke felt he could finally face Naruto again and turned his gaze in his fake boyfriend's direction.

A flash of anger and annoyance flashed through Naruto's eyes, letting Sasuke know that Naruto thought he wasn't going to answer his questions.

"Yes, that guy is my brother," Sasuke answered Naruto's first question, enjoying the look of astonishment on Naruto's face at getting his question answered. "He mentioned reporters because the Uchiha name is well known in the business world. This is because the Uchiha family has its hands in almost every successful corporation in the world and thus we have reporters constantly monitoring our affairs."

"As for my parents," Sasuke continued, watching with great amusement as Naruto's blue eyes grew wider with each word, "they live in another house. Itachi, my brother, wanted to break free from the family and enter the business world on his own. My father felt it would be best if I join him so Itachi and I live together. So far I have made a few business deals for Itachi and that is how I have managed to buy that car outside that you seem to think was given to me."

Naruto visibly flinched at the verbal punch Sasuke gave him. It pleased Sasuke to see that Naruto had seen the error of his ways. The last thing he wanted was for people to think he was a spoiled child.

"And what about being gay?" Naruto asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

Sasuke shrugged. "My family doesn't care. They want me to be happy. What does concern them is that the media may try to attack me because of my sexual preference. In fact…" Sasuke trailed off and frowned, "we've been lucky. So far the media hasn't caught on to our '_relationship'._"

"Wow…" Naruto whispered in awe, sliding away from Sasuke on the couch.

The movement made Sasuke frown. He didn't mind having his personal space but why had Naruto moved away from him?

"Any other questions?" Sasuke asked, trying to ignore the voice in the back of his head worrying over Naruto's reaction.

Sasuke's question snapped Naruto out of his awe, and made his face shine with excitement. Sasuke had known that letting Naruto ask him questions was going to make his fake boyfriend happy.

"I have two questions," Naruto said and held up a hand with two fingers pointed up to signify the number of questions he was going to ask. "Question number one: Why did you freak out when you thought I was crying."

Sasuke mentally flinched at the memory of when he thought Naruto was crying. He really didn't want to say why he reacted the way he did, but there was a piece of him that wanted to answer Naruto's question because it would make Naruto happy. He didn't understand it, but he wanted to please Naruto.

Sighing in defeat, Sasuke ran a hand through his black locks of hair. "Crying people annoy me. Normally, I ignore them or reprimand them for crying but because you are supposed to be my boyfriend I felt I couldn't do either. Unsure of what to do, I panicked."

"_You_ panicked?" Naruto asked in disbelief and gave a small laugh. "You can't be serious!"

Sasuke mentally grumbled at Naruto's words. Naruto would never understand. Sasuke had grown up in a business-oriented family and so emotions were normally kept hidden among the family members. Granted, that didn't mean the Uchiha family didn't ever show emotions, but the emotions that were shown were usually downplayed. Living in this type of environment made it hard for Sasuke to be around overly emotional people.

"What's your other question?" Sasuke forced himself to say. He mentally told himself that Naruto couldn't possibly ask a more embarrassing question.

However, Sasuke grew a tad doubtful when he saw Naruto smirk confidently. "Who was the guy you kissed?"

"Itachi," Sasuke answered without pause, all doubt vanishing in an instant.

"What?" Naruto asked, clearly disappointed and confused.

Shrugging, Sasuke explained. "When I was five, Itachi gave me one of his shirts that I had wanted, so to thank him I gave him a kiss on the check."

_Now that I think about it, that was the only time I was really affectionate with anyone in my family,_ Sasuke thought.

"That doesn't count!" Naruto huffed and folded his arms over his chest. He glared heatedly at Sasuke. "Why did you say you kissed a guy when you didn't?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "But I did. If Kiba kissing his dog on the nose counts as kissing a dog, and Sakura highlighting her hair counts as dyeing it then kissing my brother on the check should count as kissing a boy."

Naruto shook his head at Sasuke, but even as he shook his head Sasuke could see a smile on his fake boyfriend's lips. "Sasuke," Naruto began, "you are crazy."

"Hn."

"Teme!" Naruto shouted, but not in anger. He laughed and tackled Sasuke, forcing Sasuke to lean against the couch's arm.

Heat rushed to Sasuke's face and he looked away from the boy half lying on top of him. As Naruto hugged Sasuke around the waist Sasuke felt the blood not only rushing to his face but to another part of his body.

What in the name of the Uchiha family was happening to him? Was he really starting to get feelings for Naruto?

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

**Author Chat:** So Naruto and Sasuke went out on their first "date". Now I know I have been mentioning upcoming drama (at least I think I have...) and I want to warn everyone that the next few chapters are going to be filled with a bunch of drama. Be prepared an emotional roller coaster ride.

And on happier note, it has finally been revealed why Sasuke reacted so badly to the possibility of Naruto crying! I know one person knew why Sasuke reacted the way he did, did anyone else figure it out?

**Fun Fact about the Fanfic:** Some of you have probably noticed that I quote the word "Preview" in the preview section at the end. If any of you have ever wondered why I quote it here is the answer: I don't really see the previews I give you as straight forward, which is the intention or else I would be giving away a lot of things. Things are also embellished in the preview section. What this all comes down to is the fact that the preview section can be misleading even if what is being stated is true, making the preview almost a joke in my mind.

**Question: **Would you guys like another fun fact, one more centered around the fanfic?

**Super Special Awesome "Preview"**: A mall and a group of giggling girls can be someone's worst nightmare. Especially when the giggling is never ending! Oh, and let's not forget that things can only get worse when Sasuke decides to act like a weirdo.


	9. Complications Make a Story

Chapter 9

Complications Make a Story

"Sakura!" Naruto called and waved to the pink haired girl of his dreams. She was surround by a group of girls and Naruto could only recognize a couple of them, one being Ino.

Sakura, who had been talking animatedly with one of the girls Naruto did not recognize, broke eye contact with the girl she was talking to and smiled when she saw him. It was when Sakura smiled that Naruto was quickly reminded about the person standing only inches behind him.

It would seem Sasuke holding his hand was becoming a common occurrence between them because when Sakura smiled at Naruto Sasuke had grabbed Naruto's hand. Handholding wasn't such a bad thing. In fact, Naruto was getting used to it, but the fact that Sasuke was holding his hand in front of Sakura made Naruto feel like a little kid and it was embarrassing. He didn't want Sakura to think he was a kid.

"Teme," Naruto hissed under his breath. Though the insult had less power in it than normal. "Teme" was slowly becoming a nickname, or maybe even a pet name, for Sasuke. Still the name let Sasuke know he was out line, or so Naruto hoped.

"Dobe?" Sasuke responded. Naruro would bet his secret stash of ramen that Sasuke's questioning tone was all a hoax. He wanted to call out Sasuke's attempt at acting but he knew better. This was the time when he and Sasuke needed to act like a couple, he just wished it wasn't in front of Sakura.

Naruto smiled up at Sasuke, who glanced at Naruto from the corner of his eye, but otherwise kept his gaze on the group of girls. "Let go of my hand," Naruto laughed so it would look like he was enjoying his time with Sasuke. "It's embarrassing," he tried to tug his hand out of the hold but Sasuke kept his grip; at least he didn't tighten it, that might have been painful.

"Hmm," Sasuke hummed in thought and began walking towards the group girls, pulling Naruto behind him.

Naruto stared at their interlocked hands and internally frowned. Everything was just weird.

He didn't like Sasuke holding his hand in front of Sakura, nor did he like the way Sasuke led him around like a little kid, but there was something else there. A part of him kind of liked it; it was like having a security blanket. Not that Naruto needed a security blanket, it was just something nice to have.

Why did everything have to be so weird and complicated? Stupid paradoxes and oxymorons.

He was more than grateful when they were standing in front of Sakura and her group because Sasuke finally let go of his hand. Suddenly the conflicting emotions were gone and Naruto felt relief wash over him, and a true smile taking over his features. "So what are we doing today, Sakura?"

X.X.X.X.X.X.

_Why am I in a mall?_ The question had been repeating itself over and over again in Naruto's head, and then the answer would come, Sakura. Wonderful, beautiful, and kind Sakura, who had friends that wouldn't stop giggling and had to stop in every store to _look_ at, not buy, things

Oh sure he had feelings for the girl but he had clearly been blinded by those feelings for even considering to go to the mall with a bunch of girls. Maybe if it had been just the two of them then he could have done something like ask her to a movie after a half hour of shopping. That would have been fun. He would have even been fine with a horrible chick flick if it meant taking a break from listening to girls gush at the clothing stores.

To make everything worse he could feel Sasuke glaring at him from the corner of his creepy, black eyes. Honestly, what was Sasuke's problem? He didn't have to come. In fact, he had invited himself along. It was his own fault if he was feeling as if his life was slowly being drained away from him with each passing giggle and cooing sound from their female companions.

Turning his head so he could look at the male walking beside him Naruto wasn't surprised to see Sasuke turn his head at the same time. In that moment a flash lightening seemed to pass between their eyes as they glared at each other, communicating all of their frustration silently at one another.

_What is your problem Teme?_

_Don't be stupid if you can help it, Dobe. Why are we here? _

Naruto rolled his eyes heavenward. _I don't know why _you're_ here. Why don't you leave if you hate it so much?_

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. _Have you already forgotten that we are trying to trick everyone into thinking we are a couple? _

_No, but that doesn't mean you have to follow me everywhere I go. Jeez! You're supposed to be my boyfriend, not my stalker. _

Sasuke's head snapped forward but he kept their silent communication going by locking onto Naruto from the corner of his eye. _Fine Dobe, then I'll leave you alone with these giggling little girls._

Naruto's eyes widened with fright. Alone? With a group of giggling girls? Who were shopping? No! He couldn't do it! He wouldn't dare! It didn't matter how much he liked Sakura! No love was worth walking through a mall with a bunch of girls!

Sasuke was serious too. He had cut off all eye contact with Naruto and was starting to turn round and go back the way they had come. Naruto had to do something! He wasn't going let Sasuke leave him alone to suffer! Heck no! Sasuke was going to suffer along side him and after this terrible episode they would go to Sasuke's house and do manly things!

So without thinking Naruto flung himself at Sasuke, and yelled "Don't you dare think about leaving me!"

His arms were wrapped tightly around Sasuke's upper body, so tight that he could feel the Sasuke's muscles tense under his hold. The boys were frozen in place with Naruto pressing himself against Sasuke's back, reminding Naruto of scene from a movie about some girl being in love a man, the man leaving, and the girl giving chase. Of course that didn't necessarily mean that their current position looked like something out of a romance film, right?

The giggles behind him answered his question.

Naruto sighed in defeat. _Well, I guess I can try to be optimistic and think of this as helping fuel the rumors that Sasuke and I need to prove that we are a couple. I just wish I didn't come off as the …uke. _Naruto frowned, really not liking the word but knowing that it was the only one that fit.

"Wow!" Came Sakura's voice from the group of giggling girls behind them, and Naruto felt himself tense. He knew whatever Sakura said next was going to be horrible; it would forever damage his masculinity. Oh sure, she wouldn't mean to do it, but the damage would be done and it would take him years of massive therapy to get over it; what a shame.

"That's so cute that you love Sasuke so much, Naruto."

It was an arrow to his heart. Maybe not the sharpest or most painful arrow in the world, but an arrow to his heart nonetheless. He wasn't some clingy, little, lovesick fool. He just didn't want to suffer alone. It was like the age-old saying, "Misery loves company." Naruto was misery and Sasuke was company. He wish he could tell Sakura that.

"It can be quite bothersome sometimes," Sasuke spoke for the first time since they entered the mall, and it didn't take a genius to know that nothing good was about to come out of his mouth. Naruto wasn't even sure if he wanted to look up from Sasuke's back to see the effects of Sasuke's words as he spoke, but his curiosity got the better of him. He looked up only to find his face inches away from Sasuke's.

The older boy had his head turned so he could look at the group of girls behind them, and Naurto would not be surprised if some of the girls were melting into puddles of goo. The smirk of on Sasuke's face oozed confidence that would make even the strongest feel weak in the knees. As much as Naruto hated to admit it, he would have to ask Sasuke to teach him how to smirk like that.

A little too taken in by his fake boyfriend's facial expression, Naruto was more than a little surprised when one of Sasuke's hands was placed lightly on his head. He hadn't even noticed that Sasuke's had maneuvered his hold so Naruto was now pressing himself against Sasuke's side. Oh the humiliation of it all.

"If he weren't so cute, I would have gone crazy with how much he clings to me," Sasuke practically radiated light and warmth as he spoke, but beneath all of that Naruto could see the evil and conniving bastard that he knew so well.

_I will kill you, Teme._ Naruto swore mentally, and he could feel the hairs on his neck bristle as he glared at Sasuke. The Uchiha would be dead by the end of the night if had any say in it.

Not at all deterred by the dirty look he was receiving, Sasuke, patted Naruto on the head and kept up his act of "loving boyfriend".

Forget by the end of the night. The second the girls were gone Sasuke would be dead.

"Ah, so cute!"

"I wish my boyfriend was like that!"

"New couples are always romantic."

Were these really the kind of friends Sakura had? Girls who like to shop and gush over how cute things are? It didn't seem to fit the bright, young girl. Sakura was a smart girl, what was she doing hanging out with such shallow and immature girls?

Glancing at the girl of his affections, he saw a blush dusting Sakura's face as she tried her hardest not to look him in the eye. That was strange. Why wouldn't she look him in the eye? Was she embarrassed because he was still holding on to Sasuke? In fact, why was he still holding onto Sasuke? Wouldn't it be better if he let go? Yeah, that probably would be a good idea.

Of course, fate, or whatever power ruled his life, decided at that moment to have Sasuke take his hand off of Naruto's head and snake his arm around Naruto's waist, keeping the blond in place. Naruto wasn't sure whether to curse out the cosmic forces or Sasuke. It would probably be more satisfying to curse out Sasuke but he wouldn't be surprised if the Uchiha some how managed to turn everything around so it appeared as if Naruto were trying to express his undying love for him.

And what made the whole situation worse was that he knew he had to go with it. If he ever wanted to write his article then he had to go with the flow and act as if he had _positive and loving_ feelings towards Sasuke, not _negative and murderous_ ones.

So with a forced smile on his face that hurt his cheeks with how much strength it took for him to force it, he tried his hardest to sound sugary sweet as he said, "You're embarrassing me, Sasuke. Can't we please go somewhere where we can be alone for a bit?"

Translation: "Meet me in a dark alley with no witnesses, that way I can kill you without any consequences."

Either Sasuke didn't know how to translate the sentence, didn't care, or thought he could take Naruto in a fight (probably that one) because Sasuke pulled Naruto closer and, keeping up his act, coolly responded, "Sounds like fun. You don't mind, do you?" Sasuke asked the group of girls, pretending to be suave.

Naruto could just barf at the act. However, when he saw of the girls practically swooned at Sasuke, Naruto wished he could melt into a pool of vomit that way he wouldn't be the only one feeling like puking. Things were made only more sickening when the girls started screaming, "We don't mind! Go! Go! Go!" and then tried to hurry them way, giggling all the while.

It was Sasuke's arm wrapped around Naruto's waist that alerted the blond to their movement by it pulling him slightly closer to Sasuke. Naruto allowed Sasuke to lead him away from the giggling girls. He would have pulled out of Sasuke's hold and walked on his own if it weren't for a few reasons: 1.) He needed to keep up the act. 2.) He wanted to beat up Sasuke so why separate himself from Sasuke when in the end they would be the same location 3.) He still wanted to vomit and it would be the best thing ever if he "accidently" barfed on Sasuke.

"So where are you taking me, Sweetie?" Naruto asked through gritted teeth just in case one of the girls was following them.

"Don't worry, Dobe, none of the girls are following us." Sasuke let his arm drop from Naruto's waist and stuffed his hand in his pants' pocket. "As for where we are going…"

A smirk spread across Sasuke's face and Naruto felt a vein in his forehead twitch. Stupid bastard, can't even answer a stupid question, and damn Naruto's curiosity! If he wasn't so curious then he would grab Sasuke, throw him into some empty place, and punch Sasuke in the face, followed with a swift kick to the nuts. There would be more than that but at the moment Naruto had only gotten that far in his plan on how to beat Sasuke.

Though that plan could easily change when Naruto saw where exactly Sasuke had led him.

It was the most beautiful sight Naruto had ever seen, and if he didn't feel his masculinity was in danger he would have cried at the wondrous sight. It was a holy sight, holier than ramen! How could he beat Sasuke up after being shown this, his Eden!

"It's just a weapons store, stop drooling." Sasuke said, destroying the beautiful vision and reminding Naruto about his anger towards Sasuke. Okay, so Sasuke had shown him this wonderful place so he wouldn't beat him up, however that didn't mean he had to happy with Sasuke, especially when he was being a mood killer.

"Shut up, Teme!" He didn't go to the mall often enough to know about such a grand store. In fact, he had never seen weapons store before. It had been one of his life dreams to see one and now he had done so! He had the right to drool, not that he was.

However, just to make sure, Naruto brushed the back of his hand against his mouth. Blood rushed to his face when felt a drop of drool on the corner of his mouth.

"Hn." Sasuke hummed, and Naruto could feel the cockiness rolling off of Sasuke. The Uchiha must have caught him wiping his mouth.

"You know what Sasuke, bite me!" Naruto yelled and raised his middle finger in the air at Sasuke. He knew Sasuke was going to come up with some witty retort, something he really wasn't in the mood to hear. So as much as it bruised his pride, he decided he rather run into the store and regain his happy mood than hear whatever Sasuke had to say.

He had only taken two steps when the last thing… actually, no, not "the last thing"—he had never expected what happened to happen. He heard an unfamiliar girl's voice, and while that was normal, they were in a mall after all, what wasn't normal was the sight that greeted him when he turned around to see who the owner of the voice was.

Latched on to Sasuke's arm was a girl. She didn't look much older than Sasuke and she wasn't anything special appearance wise. She didn't look like she could be a relative of Sasuke's, unless she was a distant one because she had red hair and mocha skin and could no way be a close relative. So what was she doing clinging to Sasuke? Did she have a death wish? So far Sasuke was too busy looking at the girl as if she were some sideshow freak to kill her but if she didn't run away soon she would be in big trouble.

"Hey! It's so awesome to meet you here!" The girl smiled at Sasuke.

The girl obviously couldn't know Sasuke if she was clinging to him. Being the good citizen that he was, Naruto knew had to do something. "Hey, you might wan-"

Naruto was cut off by the girl, who was suddenly smiling at him. "And you too! It's so nice to see you too."

Naruto did a double blink. This was getting weird. Was this girl crazy or something? She couldn't possibly know them, could she? He looked at the girl a little more closely but he could not find one familiar feature on her.

Things only got weirder when a tall bulky guy came up behind the girl, and grabbed one of the girl's upper arms, forcing to let go of Sasuke a bit. "Hey, let's go." He gave her arm a tug.

"Oh, but Zee, these guys are my friends, I just want to talk for a bit." The girl was smiling still, but Naruto noticed the way the girl's nails dug into Sasuke's arm when the guy, Zee, grabbed her. Suddenly her smile didn't seem as friendly anymore but looked tainted with fear.

Things were starting to make sense in Naruto's mind, and they must have been making sense to Sasuke too, because he was looking unbelievably irritated at Zee. Whoever this girl was she needed help scaring off Zee.

"Actually, we have to go soon," Sasuke said, his head turned to face the girl, but his eyes locked on the big bulky guy. "Would you like a ride home?"

"That would be great," the girl said and tried to pull her arm out of the guy's grip, but he would not let go. "Uh, Zee, could you please give me back my cell phone?"

For the first time Naruto noticed the small, pink cell phone in Zee's hands. Looking at Zee's raggedy attire, Naruto had a hard time believing that pink shiny phone belonged to the boy.

"Just wait, I need to hear back from my friends. I can give you a ride once my friends come pick me up," and once again Zee tugged on her arm, this time hard enough to make her body jerk.

"You know what, you don't have to do that, Zee," Naruto took a step forward so he was standing closer to Sasuke and the girl, "because my friend and I were thinking about going into that weapons shop over there," Naruto tilted his head back a bit to gesture to the store, "and buy some pepper spray, a sword, and maybe some brass knuckles."

Translation: "You picked the wrong place to harass someone."

Zee looked between the three of them, and Naruto couldn't help but grin when the tall boy took a step backwards.

"Okay, fine. See ya later, Jen," the guy said as he retreated.

Naruto could feel the victory seeping into his pores and was beginning to do a mental happy dance. That's when he almost laughed at the words that came out of Jen's mouth.

"Zee! My cell phone!"

"Right…" Naruto could hear the frustration in Zee's voice and was tempted to snicker. The big guy looked so pathetic when handed the pink phone over to Jen. His pathetic behavior continued to grow when he ran away like puppy with his tail between his legs.

When Zee was out of sight Naruto finally released a chuckle. "That was fun."

"Idiot," Sasuke grumbled, and yanked his arm out of the girl's hold. He then proceeded to scowl at the girl, making Naruto want to smack Sasuke across the face. What was he doing scowling at a girl who was just being harassed by a guy twice her size? Sasuke was more of a jackass than he thought.

"Sasuke, stop being such an asshole," Naruto cursed.

"You are an idiot if you think that was fun," Sasuke bluntly stated, his famous glare zeroing in on Naruto. Sasuke's actions angered Naruto, but at the same time his mind was starting to see where Sauske was coming from. If his assumption was right then Zee was more than just some trouble making punk and situation had been a lot more dangerous then it would have seemed to an outsider.

"I have an idea of what just happened but I would like to know a little more, so you," Sasuke's glare landed on Jen, "start explaining.

"Can I start off by saying 'Thank you'?" Jen asked, and nervously shifted her feet. "You two are so awesome for helping me."

"No problem," Naruto waved off her thanks. She didn't owe them any thanks. Only a jerk would have not helped her get rid of that creep, Zee. Besides, his inner reporter was coming out, and his inner reporter could smell a story. Giving him something to write about for school would be more than enough thanks.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

**What Happened Akira! :** A lot happened! I moved, I started classes, became a second mother to one of my friends, became an insomniac, and have been working like a crazy person. May I also add that one of my finals was to write a fifty-page novelette? Classes and work come before fanfiction. Sorry guys, but it is true. Plus I wanted to rewrite this chapter.

**You're Still Three Days Over Your Promised Time!: **For those of you who checked my profile, I said in December I would update this fanfic. It is now the third of January. Why was I late? Because by the time I finished this chapter and edited it the year was coming to a close and I realized all my readers were probably visiting family, so I waited.

**Fun Fact:** Last year I was a teaching assistant for my Government teacher. My Gov teacher is a really sweet guy and on occasions he would let his classes take a day off from work. During one of these days off the boys I the class I assisted in started playing a bunch of different games, some had to do with memory and some had to do with rhythm but there was one game that stood out from them all "Never Have I Ever" (the correct name of the game played at the beginning of this fanfic. Thank you my correctors.). As they played the game they said some interesting things like "Never have I ever driven out of the state just to get gas", "Never have I ever gone commando", and other funny things.

**Super Special Awesome "Preview":** Who needs friends when you have enemies? Granted, friends may lend you art supplies instead of trying to kill you with them. Also things get a little heated when Naruto does something to displease Sasuke, and why does everything happen in the cafeteria!


	10. Focus and Perspective

Chapter 10

Focus and Perspective

"I don't remember my bedroom becoming your study place," Naruto grumbled as he typed away at his computer. As hard as he tried to focus, he just couldn't find the words to write what he wanted. Instead, all he could focus on was Kiba cursing under his breath as he started over on another part of one of his school project.

"Yeah well, you have more art supplies than me," Kiba said, his own attention divided as he grabbed a sheet of paper and started measuring it with the plastic, translucent, orange ruler. "Besides, I haven't seen you all weekend, or heard from you either. Usually you call me at least once because you are bored."

Naruto paused in the middle of typing out a word and frowned. Did he really call or see Kiba every weekend? He didn't think so, but then again...he did enjoy socializing, and he usually had at least one lull in his weekends, which could easily be filled by talking to a friend or visiting one. Maybe he did spend that much time with Kiba? The though made Naruto wrinkle his nose in distaste. He really needed to get a life if he spent that much time with one person. No wonder he didn't have a girlfriend and was stuck pretending to date a boy.

Going back to typing away at his keyboard, Naruto's room became very quiet. Neither boy spoke and the only sounds being made were the clicking of computer keys, scissors slicing through paper, and a thump when Kiba's elbow bumped against the corner of Naruto's bed as he moved pieces of paper about.

"So…" Kiba hesitantly spoke up, breaking the silence between them. "Were you with Sasuke today?"

Once again, Naruto stopped typing. His mind was screaming the answer "Yes" but his lips would not move. The word wasn't even on the tip of his tongue. Naruto had never been one to keep things from Kiba. Heck, the guilt was still tearing him up inside for not telling Kiba that Sasuke and him were only pretending to date. Was he going to keep his "date" with Sasuke a secret too?

There were two ways to look at the situation. In a sense, he was already lying to Kiba, and if he revealed his date with Sasuke he would add fuel to that lie, and if he didn't tell Kiba about going to the mall with Sasuke then he would be keeping two things from Kiba. In the end, none of his choices were good, both of them would force Naruto to be deceitful, something he did not want to be.

So he went with a third option. "I was at the mall with Sakura and her friends," Naruto answered.

Naruto couldn't see his friend's expression and he really wished he could because Kiba did not respond right away. Normally Kiba would be teasing Naruto mercilessly about his crush on Sakura. He'd probably make some joke about how Naruto finally manned up enough to ask Sakura out.

Too bad Kiba thought Naruto had feelings for Sasuke; suddenly there was nothing to joke about. Silence took over the room again.

Not liking the silence one bit, Naruto tried to start up a conversation with Kiba. "Hey, do you want to hear what I am writing about in my article?"

"I guess," came the apathetic response, making Naruto nervous. Why did things feel so tense between him and Kiba? It wasn't like they were yelling at each other or had done something to offend the other, so why did everything feel wrong?

Shrugging off his worry and convincing himself that it was all in his head, Naruto told himself that it was the stress from keeping a secret from his friends and family that was causing him to hallucinate about the tension between him and Kiba. Believing himself completely, and mentally congratulating himself for figuring out the cause of his worry, Naruto smiled easily and spun around in his seat so he was facing his friend. "Great! Remember that I said I was at the mall earlier? While I was there, I got sick of hanging around with the girls, so I left. I ended up at a weapon shop, where from out of nowhere comes this girl. At first I think she is crazy because she is acting like she knows me, but then this big guy appears and Sasuke and I knew immediately that the girl was trying to get away from him. After the guy left she told me that he had asked to borrow her phone so he could call his friends to get a ride home because his car had broken down. He spent fifteen minutes talking to her and trying to get in contact with his friends before he tried to pull her away from the crowd. That's when she knew she was in trouble. She ran up to us and pretended to be our friend. What's really interesting though, is that when she looked at her dialed calls she found no number, however when she looked at the calls received list on her phone she found a strange number. Isn't that interesting?"

"Yeah, real interesting," Kiba grumbled, and turned his back on Naruto, the opposite reaction that Naruto had been looking for. "It's real interesting that you say you were at the mall with Sakura and halfway through your story you mention Sasuke."

"What?" Naruto went wide-eyed. Had he really mentioned Sasuke? Naruto repeated every sentence he spoke in his head but he could not remember when he had said Sasuke's name. He must have been too focused on making things less tense and ended up letting the name slip. He had to do something to remedy the situation. Maybe if he pretended that everything was okay then everything would turn out fine in the end?

"Don't get so upset, Kiba," Naruto shrugged, trying to be nonchalant though inside he felt nothing but butterflies and guilt at getting caught. "It's not like I said I _wasn't _out with Sasuke."

"I know!" Kiba snapped, and turned his head so he could scowl at Naruto over his shoulder. "I know that you never said Sasuke and you weren't out together, so you didn't lie. However, your intention was to hide it from me!"

"You're overreacting Kiba," Naruto spoke, surprised by his own calmness. Normally he was the emotional one.

"You know what, I agree with you Naruto; I am overreacting," Kiba hissed. "But think of it like this: Your best friend just came out of the closet, and you never knew they were in the closet to begin with. Along with that you find out your friend is dating some random guy who thinks he owns the world. Finally, you ask your friend a simple question: Were they out with their boyfriend, and instead of getting a straight answer, you get a misleading one. I'm overreacting, but damn it all to hell if I don't have a few good reasons to!"

"It's not that simple!" Naruto shouted, his anger finally sparking to life. Kiba was making him look like the bad guy in all of this. He was just as much a victim in this sticky situation as Kiba was, maybe more. "You don't understand!"

"Then maybe you should tell me the truth so I can!" Kiba yelled, and stood up. Someone other than Naruto would have been nervous about the fists clenched at Kiba's side. To Naruto however, they were no more than a challenge, and he always rose to a challenge. He was standing up within seconds, hands balled into fists too.

"If I could, I **would**!"

"That's complete bull shit!"

"What do you know, Dog Breath!"

"I know that a real friend would trust me!"

"I do trust you, you idiot! It's just complicated!"

"Again, that's bull shit! It's only complicated if you make it like that!"

"Ha! I wish!"

"Really? Then let me help you," Kiba growled. Without warning, he bent down and began gathering all of the materials he had been working with into his arms. Once he had everything, he stood up straight and turned on his heels. The action was so abrupt Naruto was speechless. He would have remained speechless if Kiba hadn't shouted as he left the room, "Until you get your act together, I have nothing to do with you."

What in the name of Ramen did he mean by that?

Snapping out of being dumbstruck, Naruto quickly chased after Kiba until he was on the other boy's heels. "I have my act together! You're just being too sensitive!"

"If you had your act together, then you would be more concerned about something else other than your pride," Kiba hissed, ignoring Naruto and continuing towards the front door.

"My pride? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Think about why you're really angry and then you'll see," and with that Kiba was out the door and slamming it in Naruto's face.

"The heck?" Naruto murmured.

What was Kiba talking about? Naruto knew what he was angry about. He was angry that Kiba thought things were so simple. Things were more complicated than Kiba thought.

_ "It's only complicated if you make it!"_

Naruto shook his head. Stupid Kiba. What did he know?

Naruto looked at the doorknob. He should probably chase after Kiba, but if he did, they'd probably get in another fight. Naruto wasn't in the mood to fight with Kiba, and he had an article to write. He'd just talk to Kiba tomorrow.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

The entire premise for why Sasuke decided to pretend to date Naruto might as well have never existed with the way Naruto had been acting since they began "dating". The energetic, optimistic, and upbeat personality Sasuke had seen in Naruto was like a false advertisement. There were a few moments when he saw that personality in Naruto, but what he mostly saw was the same as what was sitting across from him at the lunch table: a Naruto with a frown on his face and eyes that were gazing off into the distance.

Looking down at the half eaten sandwich in his hands, Sasuke wondered if he it would be wise to ask Naruto what was going on in what should be that empty head of his. There was no doubt in Sasuke's head that doing such a thing would be unwise, however if he wanted an upbeat and positive Naruto, he would have to act like he cared.

Sasuke could already feel a headache coming on. "What's wrong?"

Naruto blinked but his eyes remained glossed over in thought. "Nothing. I'm just thinking," he whispered, not paying attention to any of the words coming out of his mouth.

"Don't hurt yourself, Dobe."

Sasuke felt his lips curl when Naruto's eyes no longer looked glazed. The blond wasn't looking at him still, but Sasuke would change that soon enough. He'd never let Naruto ignore him, especially when he was being kind enough to act concerned.

"Very funny, Teme," Naruto sarcastically replied and rolled his eyes heavenward.

"Not as funny as an idiot trying to think."

Was it wrong for him to feel giddy—yes, giddy—about his ability to make Naruto sneer and glare at him with just a sentence? Perhaps it was a little sick, but everyone has the right to have a sick moment or two. Plus, Sasuke always knew he was a bit of a sadist.

"Why do you want to know what's on my mind?" Naruto asked, eyes narrowed with suspicion and anger.

Sasuke shrugged. As if he'd ever tell Naruto the truth. "We're boyfriends, right? I'm supposed to be concerned about you."

Naruto growled. "If that's your reason, I'm keeping my thoughts to myself."

How annoying and ungrateful. He was trying to be a good boyfriend and show some compassion and what did Naruto do? Reject him! Maybe it was his evil inner child, but he couldn't accept that. He wanted retribution. The only question was "how to get it?"

Staring at Naruto, Sasuke tried to find his answer. The blond wasn't paying attention to his surroundings—he was probably too busy thinking again—which meant he was wide open to attack, but what kind of attack? Violence would be a little much. It had to be something that would humiliate Naruto, but nothing too drastic. Just a minute or two of flustering Naruto would be enough to even the score. What could he do that would achieve his goal?

It didn't take long for a wicked idea to come to mind.

Moving cautiously so he wouldn't alert Naruto, Sasuke sat up a bit and began leaning his upper body across the table. He almost cursed when someone bumped into him from behind; he had almost forgotten that he was in the school cafeteria. He glanced from side to side to make sure he wouldn't get bumped again, and felt that giddiness he had felt earlier return when he saw a few curious stares from his peers.

Letting his gaze fall on Naruto he admired the blonde's frowning pale lips that would soon be a nice pink shade. He couldn't believe how close he had gotten to Naruto without the blond noticing. Whatever was on Naruto's mind must be important to him. Suddenly, Sasuke was truly intrigued; he genuinely wanted to know what was distracting his so-called boyfriend, but not before placing his lips against Naruto's.

Surprisingly, Naruto's reaction was swift. He tried to pull back, but Sasuke had foreseen such a reaction and had a hand placed on the back of Naruto's head, effectively holding him in place in less than a second. He heard Naruto try to say something but it came out as a muffled phrase. Blue eyes were wide with shock and terror, and Sasuke couldn't help but press his lips closer against Naruto's, making the kiss rougher than intended.

A shiver of delight went down Sasuke's spine when Naruto's response was another muffled sound that vibrated against his lips. Parting his lips just a bit, he scraped his teeth against Naruto's bottom lip, causing the blond to try to pull away and close his eyes. It was delicious sight, and Sasuke wasn't ashamed to say he wanted to see more. What would happen if instead of a scrape he tried a nibble?

Doing just that he was rewarded with another sound from Naruto. He didn't know what to call the noise. It wasn't whimper or a moan, and Sasuke was confident that he had taken away Naruto's ability to form words so it couldn't be that. Then again, the muscles in Naruto's neck felt tense under his hand. Perhaps Naruto wasn't as _blissful_ as Sasuke had thought. He'd just have to fix that.

Sasuke lowered his hand so it rested on the center of Naruto's neck, and began to apply pressure with his fingers. Another sound came from Naruto, but this one was definitely a moan. Smirking into the kiss, Sasuke continued to nibble at Naruto's bottom lip, abusing it as best as he could.

He barely registered the vibration in the back his throat that told him he had released a moan of his own. Instead of feeling shame for showing what he would dub "weakness" he was excited by the sudden enthusiasm that overcame Naruto at the sound. Once pale lips, pressed frantically against his; rough and fast, not allowing Sasuke time to go back to giving Naruto's lip the treatment he had been giving it. That didn't stop Sasuke from controlling the kiss though. Naruto's movements were repetitive and it didn't take long for Sasuke to catch on to the pattern and take advantage of it.

If his pants weren't getting tighter by the second and the fun little fact that he needed more air than his nose was currently providing him, he would have kept going. Pulling his lips away from Naruto's, he was very pleased when he saw red and slightly bruised lips in place of pale ones. Pleasure grew when glossed over blue eyes stared at him in awe. It was a little startling to see that he was still massaging Naruto's neck, but after a second's hesitation, he shrugged off his shock and let his fingers continue to play with Naruto's neck.

"So are you going to tell me what you were thinking about?" Sasuke asked, radiating with cockiness.

Naruto must have still been in a daze because he nodded numbly and without any resistance answered. "It really is nothing. Kiba and I had a fight yesterday. I was going to talk to him today but I'm not sure what to say." Naruto sighed and looked down at the table. "I thought he was just overreacting, but when I woke up this morning, I realized maybe he has a point. However, I think I have a point too. So as much as I want to talk to him, I don't think I can do that until I sort things out."

"That's it?"

Naruto nodded his head.

Sasuke frowned and pulled his hand away from Naruto's neck. He had wasted his time trying to get that useless piece of information out of Naruto. What had he been thinking? He should have known Naruto would be worried about something as trivial as a fight with a friend.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Naruto tried to ignore the looks he received in the hallway as he walked to his journalism class. Stupid Sasuke. Why did he have to kiss him in the middle of the cafeteria? He already had enough on his mind without the added irritation that came with being pointed and gawked at. There was also the added worry of homophobes striking out at him.

So far only a fraction of student populace believed the rumors; in a week or two everyone would. Admittedly, just because someone doesn't believe a rumor, it doesn't mean they won't stop and stare when given the chance. Naruto would love to start a fight with one of the gawkers but that would only bring more unwanted attention to himself.

_Just make it to Journalism. Just make it to Journalism. _Naruto mentally repeated.

He just had to turn in his article and then he could cut class and go home. He'd probably have Sasuke showing up at his house later to yell at him for not walking home with him, but that didn't matter. He needed a break from everything so he could have a real moment to think and sort things out.

"_Until you get your act together, I have nothing to do with you."_

"_I have my act together! You're just being too sensitive!"_

_"If you had your act together, then you would be more concerned about something else other than your pride."_

Naruto wanted to kick himself. Kiba was right after all. He really wasn't acting like himself and he was dropping the ball on so many things. So why had he even let himself get caught up in such a stupid fight with Kiba? With his luck, Kiba was probably right about the pride thing too.

Damn Kiba and his rare moment of insight.

Was it so wrong that he was upset about his best friend being able to read him so well? Probably, but what could he do about it?

Walking into his Journalism class, Naruto pulled his article out of his backpack, walked to the other side of the room where the turn in bin was located, put his article in said turn in bin, and walked out the room before the teacher arrived to stop him. None of the kids cared enough to stop him, and why would they? They had their own lives to live and projects to work on.

Naruto had his life too, and at the moment he needed to find some way to save his friendship with Kiba.

He'd better get a big bowl of ramen on the way home. He had a feeling finding the solution to his problems was going to take a long time.

* * *

**Fun Fact**: So how many of you guys remember what Naruto said happened to Jen? Now how many of you remember what he said about her cell phone and the number that appeared on her received numbers list? Here is the fun fact, that event is true. During the summer my friends and I ran across this number that one can call and it will appear on the received numbers list instead of dialed.

**Why did you have to make Jen?** : Okay, I haven't heard anything negative about Jen, but just in case someone out there is thinking, "_Darn it! An OC that is going to take over the fanfic!_" don't worry. Jen will not come back. She may be mentioned on occasion but nothing more. For anyone who liked her, sorry, but while I do use OCs frequently I do not like making them main characters. They are usually running gags if they show up more than once or twice. Other times they are just filling the place of a needed role (i.e. teacher, doctor, psychologist, ect.).

**Want to Help Akira?**: As you readers have noticed, this chapter had a lot to do with friendship. I'd like to know what you guys think about Kiba and Naruto's friendship. Is it weird? Do you dislike it, and why if you do? Is it interesting? Did you completely skip the first and last part of this chapter because you didn't care about the friendship at all and just wanted to read about the kiss? Is there anything you want improved? Let me know, please.

**Super Special Awesome "Preview"**: Sasuke has control issues. He also has issue with ramen, but don't tell Naruto that; he'll kill you. When Sasuke isn't having issues he is busy trying not to kill annoying girls. Remember, the best way to kill an annoying girl is to make them bleed to death…through the nose.


	11. Of Noodles and Girls

Chapter 11

Of Noodles and Girl

_This is your way of apologizing? _Sasuke thought to himself as he stared at the tacky ramen shop Naruto had taken him to. The shop's structure was interesting; it was built with only three walls and a roof, giving its customers little protection from the elements while presenting them with a nice view of the surrounding area as well. The front of the shop looked like a bar and off to the bar's side were the tables.

Sasuke's inner businessman frowned at the little shop. How could the owner of the shop still have money? While the view of the scenery wasn't horrible, the lack of a fourth wall lowered the shop's defenses against robbers in the middle of the night and it also made the chances of having customers during days with harsh weather conditions slim. The shop's existence made no sense, just like Naruto.

"Come on Sasuke!" the boy Sasuke had just been thinking about whined, tugging on Sasuke's arm.

"I don't like ramen," Sasuke stated flatly.

"Everyone likes ramen!" Naruto disagreed adamantly, pathetically denying reality, and pulled a little harder on Sasuke's arm, causing the older boy to shift his weight so he wouldn't move forward. "Stop being a pain, Teme! You said I owed you for ditching you at school. I said I'd pay you back with dinner and this is the dinner I have chosen to give you! You should accept it graciously! Didn't your mother teach you any manners?" Naruto kept pulling on Sasuke's arm and the Uchiha found that it took most of his strength to keep himself in place.

"She did, but why should I use them on someone who is rude, like you?" Sasuke shot back, grunting as he tried to keep his balance. Since when did Naruto get so strong? Had Naruto always been strong? Then why hadn't he been able to fight off Sasuke whenever the Uchiha had him pinned?

"Asshole," Naruto hissed, adjusting his grip so he was clasping Sasuke's elbow with both hands and his armpit held Sasuke's wrist in place; things weren't looking too good for Sasuke. A few more tugs and he would lose his balance and topple forward like a top-heavy building. "I am going to buy you ramen, you are going to eat it, and you are going to like it!"

"Dobe," Sasuke grunted and snarled at the same time. He could feel the muscles in Naruto's arms crushing his own arm. The sensation was weird, foreign, and strangely pleasant. Oh yes, it felt like his arm was going to have the life squeezed out of it but the feel of those muscles against his made something spark to life in Sasuke and send his blood in a certain direction. He wouldn't let Naruto know that though. "I may let you buy me ramen and eat it, but you cannot force me to like it."

"You'll like it, Teme." Naruto whispered like a threat, and if it weren't for their discussion topic, Sasuke might have really thought it was such a thing when Naruto gave him nastiest look he had ever seen on the blonde's face. It must have been a trick of light but Naruto looked like he had grown fangs and had red eyes. He was a demon child. "You'll like it and you will thank me, Teme."

"Hn. Whatever you say, Dobe," Sasuke smirked and let his arm go limp and his body be tugged forward by Naruto. Secretly, he hoped that Naruto hadn't noticed that he had surrendered to the blonde's desire. The last thing he wanted was for Naruto to think that he suddenly had the power in their relationship. The deal had been that Sasuke would be the seme and Naruto would be uke, and that was something Sasuke wasn't willing to negotiate on.

"Finally!" Naruto exclaimed in exasperation, demon child persona no longer present. With his change in persona also came change in his hold of Sasuke. Where he had been practically squeezing the life out of Sasuke's arm and hand, he was now holding the Uchiha's hand just enough to pull Sasuke towards the restaurant. It irked Sasuke a bit since _he_ was the dominant one, thus _he_ should be doing the leading, but he kept silent.

"I'm hungry and your stubbornness was getting annoying!"

"Oh? So my stubbornness wasn't annoying at first?" Sasuke mocked, taking out some of his frustration at being led around on his fake boyfriend. "Did you happen to think it was cute?"

"What!" Naruto's jaw dropped. Unconsciously, he moved away from Sasuke, but not enough to break his hold. "Are you joking?" He asked incredulously, and Sasuke was sure he could see some pink forming on Naruto's cheeks. "You wish, Teme! As if I would ever think you are cute."

"I never said that you thought _I_ was cute. I merely suggested that you thought my stubbornness was cute." Internal evil laughter rolled inside Sasuke's chest cavity. His sadistic and vengeful side danced with glee. He didn't want Naruto to get any ideas by pointing out Naruto's current stance in the relationship, mocking and embarrassing him however, made up for it. It was like yelling "fetch" in front of a dog and watching it take off in a random direction to find something: hilarious, but unusually cruel.

"You know what, Teme? If you keep picking on me I'll buy you two bowls of ramen and force you to eat both! Not a noodle or drop of ramen will remain or else I'll buy you another bowl and force it down your throat! How about that?"

What an interesting punishment. Naruto must have picked up a bit of Sasuke's sadistic and devious side, because the Naruto Sasuke knew wasn't clever enough to think up such a unique way to torture someone. Sasuke was torn between being proud, and being annoyed. It was like what Sasuke imagined his high school gradation ceremony would be like one day. Coming to that conclusion, he settled with being quiet and looking smug.

Naruto stared at his face and frowned. "I hate your face."

"Don't be jealous."

"Shut up," Naruto yelled between gritted teeth, and tried to force a smile on his face as they reached the counter. Considering that there didn't look to be any waiters or waitresses, Sasuke assumed that they would have to give their orders at the counter.

"Hello Naruto!" The middle-aged man working at the counter/bar greeted the blond and Sasuke was not sure if that was a good sign. On one hand, the person in charge of their food was friendly, which is always nice to know. On the other hand, to be friendly with someone working at a restaurant one usually has to frequent said restaurant, which would mean Naruto eats a lot of ramen; not exactly healthy, correct?

An image of Naruto gorging himself on salty, unhealthy, disgusting ramen entered Sasuke's mind, and he felt a tiny bit of vomit in the back of his throat.

It was so tempting to grimace at the thought but Sasuke kept it together and let no trace of his disgust leak into his expression. He also made a mental note to introduce Naruto to healthier food while they were "dating". He wasn't going to kiss someone who ate nothing but ramen; it'd be only a little better than kissing someone who smokes.

"So what would you two boys like?" the man asked, a pleasant smile on his face. To anyone else but Sasuke it would seem like the man was being especially nice but Sasuke knew better. People like other people who are happy and treat them nicely. In the restaurant industry where a good attitude gets oneself tips, Sasuke expected the workers to act pleasant.

"The usual, one bowl for me and one for my friend," Naruto answered, letting go of Sasuke's hand and taking a seat at the counter. Groaning internally at having to eat at such a place, Sasuke took a seat next to Naruto.

"Coming right up!" The man announced, turned his back on them, and started preparing their meal.

_What? No drinks?_ Sasuke questioned silently. What kind of restaurant didn't ask its customers if they wanted any beverages? Maybe it was because Naruto's usual didn't include a drink? Still, someone should have asked Sasuke if _he_ wanted a drink, at the very least. How the restaurant was still in business, Sasuke did not know. It truly had to be thanks to loyal (and dumb) customers like Naruto.

Speaking of which, the blond was chattering away as the two of them waited for their death-by-salt-ramen. Sasuke watched as Naruto talked animatedly, waving his arms about and making gestures, but all he heard was an imaginary buzzing sound in his head. There were more important things for Sasuke to pay attention to. If only he could pay attention to those things.

His gaze and thoughts were locked on Naruto. He watched as Naruto's mouth moved rapidly as he spoke excitedly, and noticed the light in the blonde's blue eyes as he thought about whatever it was he was talking about. Then there was the way Naruto would move his head to the side to make a simple gesture. Something about it was very hypnotic, which was irritating. Sasuke didn't want to study Naruto the way he was; he didn't want to study Naruto at all, but he couldn't stop. It was like he was witnessing a train crash, but less deadly.

At least, he didn't think Naruto was deadly. Although,... that demon child persona made it a little questionable.

"Hey look! It's Sakura and Ino! Hey Sakura! Over here!" Naruto cried and waved his arm in the air to get the two girls' attention.

As if it had been Naruto's attention being directed at him that had entranced Sasuke, with Naruto's attention suddenly focused on someone else, Sasuke was no longer spellbound by his faux boyfriend. It was like waking up from a peaceful dream only to find himself in an alley when he had been expecting to wake up in his bed; odd and at a loss as to what was happening.

"Hello Naruto," Sakura's voice greeted the blond from behind Sasuke. For some unknown reason, Sasuke felt his muscles tense. He didn't like that the girl was standing behind him but normally he had better muscle control and could hide his discomfort. Perhaps the trance Naruto had held him in had made him too lax?

"Hey, Sakura," Naruto spoke with a smile filled to the brink with adoration.

Sasuke tried not to roll his eyes at Naruto's obvious crush on the girl. How anyone thought Naruto was gay and had feelings for him when he was constantly gushing over the pink haired girl was a mystery to Sasuke. It had to be because the general populace was becoming less intelligent due to poor reality TV shows. That was the only explanation.

Oh wait! There was another explanation: Sasuke was just that good of an actor.

Sasuke smirked at the arrogant thought.

"Can we talk outside?" Naruto asked the girl. "I have question I want to ask you in private."

Having not bothered to turn so he could look at the girl, Sasuke could not see Sakura's facial expression but he didn't care. He was more curious about this question of Naruto's. Was it an academic question? Was it personal? Did it involve him at all?

_Stop that_, Sasuke commanded himself. _Remember what happened the last time you decided to find out what Naruto was thinking? You had to kiss him and you ended up getting useless information._

"Uh…? Sure?" Sakura hesitated.

"Great!" Naruto's smile widened. Standing up, he didn't even pause to consider saying something to Sasuke. Not that Sasuke wanted a farewell or an explanation for his fake boyfriend's departure; it was just a common courtesy. It wasn't worth complaining about, but Sasuke would have to remember to point it out to Naruto that abandoning his "boyfriend" for a girl may not seem like something a homosexual male would do.

Grunting, Sasuke shifted himself in his seat and was preparing himself to ignore the rest of the world when someone sat in the seat that had been occupied by Naruto seconds ago. Snapping his head in the direction of the intruder, he was about to tell the person to pick a different seat when he realized the intruder was none other than Ino. A quick glance over his shoulder and Sasuke caught a glimpse of Sakura and Naruto stepping outside and out of sight before looking back at the blonde girl.

"Hello Sasuke," Ino smiled flirtatiously, earning Sasuke's ire with ease. Perhaps Ino was naturally flirty but Sasuke doubted it. Call him arrogant, but he knew many members of the female populace were attracted to him and not even a tiny rumor about him dating Naruto would stop them from pursuing him.

Didn't they have any shame?

Ignoring the girl, Sasuke let his gaze follow the movements of the chef as he continued to cook ramen. He would hope that the girl would be able to tell that he wasn't interested in speaking to her but it was highly unlikely.

"I didn't know you liked ramen," Ino said, trying to get Sasuke to speak but the Uchiha would not fall for such an obvious trap.

The flirtatious smile on the girl's face slowly peeled away as seconds ticked by and Sasuke remained silent. Then, finally realizing that he wasn't interested, Ino huffed and stuck her nose up in the air. "You know Sasuke, while there is a rumor about you and Naruto, that's what most people think it is: a rumor. No one believes you're gay, and everyone agrees that if you were you would definitely not date someone like Naruto."

Was this girl trying to anger him? Why could she not understand that he didn't want to talk to her and thus did not want her to talk to him? Idiot.

"So Sasuke, why are you really hanging out with Naruto all of a sudden?" Ino asked, and it was a good thing Sasuke didn't have anything sharp and pointy or he would have gouged her eyes out right then.

"Sorry it took so long," Sakura's voice cut in and just like that the two were no longer alone.

"May I have my seat back?" Naruto asked as he took his place behind Ino, waiting for the return of his seat beside Sasuke.

"I don't know," Ino smirked, trying to act coy as she spoke. "I think Sasuke likes my presence. Maybe you two should go back outside so we can continue talking."

"What?" Naruto and Sakura gasped.

"Joking," Ino laughed and slid out of Naruto's seat to stand next to Sakura. "You can have your seat back Naruto. Sakura and I need to grab a table and wait for our friends to arrive, anyway."

"Oh, okay," Naruto said, though it sounded as if Naruto's mouth were moving on its own while his mind was still trying to process the information. It was only to be expected by someone like Naruto; he had never been a fast learner. Even so, Sasuke would rather have a slow learner than a flirty girl who couldn't mind her own business sitting next to him.

"See you later, guys," Ino waved farewell with one hand, and made the bold move to let her other hand accidently brush against Sasuke's.

Sasuke wanted nothing more than to burn the girl's hand off. How dare she! He could sue her for sexual harassment if he wanted to. He swore if he ever caught the girl alone he would punch her.

He was so enraged he completely ignored the exchange of farewells between Sakura and Naruto. He didn't even notice when their ramen arrived. He just glared at the counter and envisioned burning Ino alive. It wasn't until Naruto was halfway through with his ramen that he noticed Sasuke's foul mood.

Slurping up a noodle and gulping it down, Naruto put his chopsticks down and looked Sasuke over for any signs of what may have upset the older boy. Finding none, he asked, "What's wrong. I know you don't want to eat ramen, but you said you would." Naruto growled a bit and scowled. "You better not be trying to get out of our deal."

Sasuke scoffed. Stupid Naruto. Of course Naruto would connect everything back to ramen. Simple fool.

"You wouldn't happen to have been asking Sakura out?" Sasuke changed the topic, though it probably would have been better if he hadn't, because when he saw Naruto's cheeks brighten with embarrassment, or shame –Sasuke preferred the latter—he felt his anger grow tremendously. Naruto had asked Sakura out when they were trying to convince people they were a couple? What was he thinking? Had Sasuke been wasting his time with Naruto?

Sensing that he was in danger of getting a good beating, Naruto quickly clarified the situation. "It's not a date or anything. We are just going out as friends."

"Do you think I am that stupid?" Sasuke spat venomously. "You like her, and you are wasting my time. You are the one who said he needed my help to convince everyone that he is gay and you asked a girl out."

"It means nothing." Naruto tried to reason. Little idiot should have known better; everyone knows there is no reasoning with a furious Sasuke Uchiha!

"To who?" Sasuke hissed. "To her? Certainly not to you."

"What's your problem?" Naruto finally snapped. "This is the closest I have ever been to Sakura and when this is all over I would like to be able to date her. Sorry if it feels like I am wasting your time, but it is more my problem if people don't think we are a couple than it is for you."

"You are still wasting my time," Sasuke rebuked and then snickered. "Besides, it's not like you have anything to offer her. You don't have enough experience."

"Experience?" Naruto repeated, raising an inquiring eyebrow. "What makes you say that? I have plenty of experience."

"I've made out with you; I know you have very little experience." Sasuke goaded, knowing very well that Naruto would soon explode. Call it immature or childish, Sasuke didn't care. He was angry and all he wanted was to share his anger with Naruto. That's what couples do after all: share.

"Oh yeah? I'll show you!"

Before Sasuke could react, he found Naruto launching himself at him and straddling his waist. The new weight in his lap caught Sasuke off guard and to balance himself he spun his stool around so his back was pressed against the edge of the counter. The impact between his back and the counter stung a bit, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. In fact, it was the furthest thing from his mind. His mind was busy enjoying the feel of Naruto sitting in his lap and, unknowingly, putting pressure on a certain part of Sasuke's body that enjoyed the contact.

He was barely aware that he was smirking when Naruto's lips pressed against his in a vicious, aggressive kiss. Naruto wasn't one for using tongue, instead he used pressure to make his kiss pleasurable; pressing against the edges of Sasuke's mouth and then moving to the center where he would let his canines run across Sasuke's bottom. At first Sasuke thought this was Naruto's way of asking for permission to French kiss him, but when the Uchiha opened his mouth a bit Naruto quickly bit his bottom lip. He had planned to take control of the kiss once Naruto's tongue was in his mouth but Naruto had other plans. No matter, Sasuke had other methods of pleasuring his partner.

Placing a hand on the back of Naruto's head, he let his fingers run through the blonde's spiky hair, enjoying the way Naruto pressed himself closer. He slid his other hand under Naruto's shirt and got as far as touching Naruto's belly before a wooden spoon was slammed down a little too close to Sasuke on the counter.

Breaking apart, Sasuke smirked as he looked into the glazed over eyes of his fake boyfriend.

Distantly, Sasuke heard the chef complaining about their public display of affection but he was more attracted to the sight of Sakura and Ino sitting not too far away, gawking at them. Well… Ino gawked, Sakura was busy covering her nose with a napkin to hide her bleeding nose.

Sasuke felt his smirk grow. Now those two girls would learn to mind their own business.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

It was still dark outside when Itachi went outside to fetch the morning paper. A cold breeze grazed his skin, one that would make most shiver but did nothing to affect him. He ignored the ice-cold beads of morning dew that touched his feet as he walked across his front lawn. The world held no effect over him, at least not until he picked up the coveted newspaper.

The newspaper was folded in such a way that only the front headline, a few sentences from the tops of articles, and the top of a picture could be seen. That was all he needed to see though.

"Interesting," he murmured.

* * *

**Finally! A New Chapter!**: Yes guys! I updated this fanfic later than I thought I would. You may be wondering why it has taken me so long and that is because of two things: 1.) Technical difficulties and 2.) Laziness. If you looked at my profile you already know about the technically difficulties, however laziness is a new development. I finally got a few days off by the time the technically difficulties were fixed and instead of updating I rested and met some old friends.

**Fun Fact:** About a few chapters back I had the five next chapters written out, but after looking them over and getting some advice I realized that things were becoming too "dramatic" and causing the characters to act OOC. So you know what, I ignored the chapters and made new ones. I still have the old ones but they are more there for inspiration than anything else. So far I like the new chapters versus the old ones.

**Super Special Awesome "Preview": **What is happening? Is this plot I smell? No, it's just the chicken I burned in the oven, however I do detect a smudge of plot on my bedroom window. Speaking of windows, who broke the bathroom mirror? Also, who broke the desk in the classroom? Who is going to pay for these things because it certainly isn't going to be me!


	12. The Lying Photo?

Chapter 12

The Lying Photo?

Sasuke glared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror as he brushed his teeth. He had awoken that morning with the strongest urge to kill someone, which, while not uncommon, was strange since the other night he had gone to bed feeling quite smug about kissing Naruto in front of Ino and Sakura. The previous day had been like his birthday and some other gift-giving holiday combined, so why was he in such a foul mood?

"_This is the closest I have ever been to Sakura and when this is all over I would like to be able to date her__."_ Sasuke heard Naruto's words from the previous night echo in his head and scowled. He viciously pulled his toothbrush out of his mouth and spat in the sink. He wished he was spitting out acid, and instead of in the sink, he wished was spitting on Naruto or Sakura; he didn't know which one he was more furious with.

"Damn it!" Sasuke hissed out the curse between his shiny, white teeth. He clenched the edge of the bathroom sink with his hands and tried to calm himself down but it wasn't working.

He couldn't explain what he was feeling and it was frustrating. His emotions were a giant paradox. On one hand he wanted to punch Naruto across the face, and on the other he wanted to track the blond down make it clear to Naruto who he should be thinking about for the rest of the month. The two emotions didn't belond together logically and yet they existed within him in perfect harmony. Then there were his feelings toward Sakura. Truthfully, the girl had never harmed him so the logical side of his brain told him not to care while his more emotional side wanted to shove her head into a blender.

It was like his emotions had become pieces of many different puzzles that were supposed to be the pieces of one puzzle, and as unfathomable as it was, they were just that.

Taking a deep breath and running a hand through his already styled hair. He tried to calm himself down, and while it helped a little, Sasuke could still feel his frustration bubbling below the surface. He stared at his reflection some more, as if it would give him the answers to all his problems, but instead his reflection betrayed him. Instead of seeing himself he saw Sakura in his mind's eye with a look of pure happiness, and she was giggling about something. Somewhere in the depths of his mind, he knew this image of Sakura he had conjured up was happy because of Naruto's feeling towards her and it irked him more.

He couldn't control himself and twisted one of the sink's knobs to start the flow of water, then quickly splashed the water at the mirror, destroying his mental image. "Damn it all!" Sasuke growled and slammed the knob back in place to stop the flow of water.

Why did the thought of Sakura liking Naruto upset him so much? Was it because he saw her as competition? That didn't make sense… but then again, currently Sasuke was supposed to be Naruto's boyfriend and Naruto was more romantically inclined towards Sakura. His goal as an actor was to make everyone believe Naruto was in love with him, and Sakura was making it harder for him to do so. Thinking of it like that, then it would be understandable for him to see Sakura as a challenge.

Now if only he could explain his dueling feelings for Naruto.

Taking another breath and releasing it, Sasuke felt his muscles become lax. He couldn't think about such things now. He had to get ready for school. He'd deal with troublesome emotions later. Plus, if Naruto did something stupid on the way to school he could always smack the blond, thus freeing a bit of agression. Sasuke smirked at the thought, left the bathroom, and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

He quickly pondered what to eat for breakfast, only to decide that his frustration left him with no appetite and that he would have only a glass of juice or milk.

It was as he was grabbing a glass out of the kitchen cupboard that he saw _it_ from the corner of his eye. _It_ lay seemingly harmless on the counter. There was nothing harmless about it though, and if it had been anyone besides Sasuke, they would have dropped the glass they had just grabbed, sending it shattering to ground at the sight. Bright, in color, and displayed perfectly in the center of the newspaper was a picture of Naruto kissing him the other night.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

"Try not to do anything stupid today, Dobe," Sasuke whispered keeping himself close to Naruto's side as they approached their high school, and also keeping a tight hold on Naruto's hand.

"Teme," Naruto spat out, grinning in challenge as he did so, pretending as if it was a normal day; as if there wasn't picture of the two of them kissing on the front of a newspaper. "Stop being a paranoid freak. These are high school kids we are talking about. Do you know how few of them read the newspaper? I didn't even look at it until you arrived and told me to."

Naruto laughed confidently but in all truth he was terrified. He spoke brave words but he knew that even though not a lot of high school kids read the newspaper, there were still quite a handful that did, and that small amount could spread the word around. Sure, there was some hope that no one would believe the gossip-spreaders, but all those few kids had to do was show the picture to any doubters and then…

Naruto could smack himself for letting himself get caught on camera kissing Sasuke at the restaurant! Sure, he had no idea that someone was going to take his picture then, but he still didn't have to kiss Sasuke. This charade was supposed to be for school and nowhere else, _but now_ the whole nation knew!

Yeah, the whole nation. The newspaper that Sasuke had shown him when he came to pick Naruto up had been a local one, but Naruto knew how news worked. Once one newspaper picked up on a juicy story the rest would have it soon, and what could be juicier than one of the biggest and most successful business heir's being gay?

Nothing, that's what.

Naruto mentally sighed. He should have listened to Jiraiya.

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered, effectively pulling Naruto out of his worrisome thoughts. "This is not going to be easy," anger decorated Sasuke voice as he tried to get across how dire the situation was but Naruto didn't need to hear what Sasuke had to say.

Naruto frowned and pulled his hand out of Sasuke's hold. Of course things weren't going to be easy! He already knew that! Naruto was just hoping that most of the students who knew him had already fallen for his trick before the newspaper came out, and any student that didn't know him wouldn't bump into him. He really did not want to deal with the initial shock of his peers. Maybe he should have skipped school?

Naruto shook his head mentally. He couldn't skip school. He's plan may not have been to have the entire nation think that he was dating Sasuke, but his plan _was_ to live the life of a gay man. He just happened to now be an outed gay man with nowhere to hide. It was very unsettling to think. Was this what homosexual people went through after being outed? Vulnerable?

He didn't like it. He didn't like having to be worried about how others would react to him. He wanted to push aside all his worry like he normally would, but in this situation he couldn't. So many people knew his "secret" now, and with it would come so many reactions, some positive and some negative.

"Just don't get your hopes up," Sasuke bit out bitterly and stormed past Naruto, causing the blond to blink in wonderment. Why had Sasuke gotten so upset? Was he just being a moody jerk again or had Naruto actually said something that had really upset the Uchiha?

A strange haze settled over Naruto and he felt his chest throb with guilt. The Uchiha had just been worried about him and was trying to help him. Maybe he should have…

Naruto blinked twice and shook his head. What had he been thinking about again? He hadn't been paying his thoughts much mind but something he had just thought caught his attention, but he just couldn't grasp it. He was pretty sure it had something to do with Sasuke. Oh well, he'd just remember it later.

He headed towards his first class of the day, with his head bowed down in deep thought. There was no one else in the world but himself and his thoughts. His mind was torn between two topics: the effects of the newspaper and Sasuke; stupid emotional Sasuke.

_Wait… isn't Sasuke supposed to be an icicle?_

_Hey, yeah. Is he sick or something?_

_Like I care. _

_You brought it up._

_No I didn't. You did._

_No I didn't._

_Yes, you did._

_No. _

_Yes._

_Argh! Forget it! Why am I even arguing with myself?_

_You're insane?_

_Possibly. _

Managing to escape his conflicting thoughts, Naruto was brought back to reality by the snickers of his fellow classmates who were huddled outside of the classroom. A deep sinking feeling pulled at Naruto, warning him about his imminent doom. He wanted to believe that he was only being paranoid but he doubted it. He wouldn't let his apprehension show though. His classmates could gossip as much as they wished but he would not give them the satisfaction of seeing him lose his cool.

So with his best painted on smile he walked up to the classroom door and opened it. As if he had just entered Alaska during a snowstorm, he froze. Disbelief ate away at his nerves as he stared at the sight that greeted him. Tucked away in a corner of the classroom was his desk, or at least what was left of it. It had been torn to pieces. The legs had been ripped off and tossed around the room. The top of his desk lay broken in half with words and phrases Naruto had never expected to have written on it.

At his sides, Naruto's hands clenched into fists.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

The greatest challenge Sasuke had ever faced in his life occurred when he was acting with his peers. So many kids love to act but so few have true skills when it comes to the art. So often he would find himself having to ignore his fellow student's bad acting while at the same time try to act off of them. It wasn't easy and it had taken a while for Sasuke to manage something that most couldn't do, but if he hadn't then Lee would be dead at the very moment.

Rock Lee was the worst actor Sasuke had ever met; the boy was too over the top, and because life was never fair Kakashi enjoyed pairing the horrible actor up with Sasuke. The so-called reason Kakashi gave was that he hoped Sasuke's icy presence would calm Lee down. Sasuke doubted that would ever happen; he would make out with Sakura before it would occur.

Currently, Sasuke sat on the edge of the stage, leaning back with one hand keeping him propped up and the other holding a script in front of him. Standing in front of the stage was Lee, who was shouting his lines, incorrectly, at the top of his lungs and failing his arms about. Naruto would probably make a better actor than Lee. Heck, a monkey could act better than Lee! Add to the fact that Sasuke was supposed to be helping Lee practice for a scene between two lovers, and Sasuke was ready to gag from disgust and an overwhelming sense of annoyance.

As the boy ended his line, incorrectly, Sasuke forced back all of his thoughts of anger and frustration and centered himself, trying to find the emotions and persona he needed for the scene. Like most times when he tried to act romantic he felt only hollow. It was an emptiness he was used to and normally wouldn't mind, but not now when he needed to feel something. Anything! Any emotion would do!

Two seconds ticked by and something tugged on Sasuke's heart. He still felt hollow, but like a tower where the only thing inside is a bell with a long rope that starts at the bell's top and then travels down to ground so someone can pull it and make the bell sing. It was the best way of describing the foreign sensation. Something was pulling on his heartstrings like a precious memory. He didn't quite understand the meaning of the emotion but he took it and let it add feeling to his words as he spoke his lines.

A spark of electricity ran down Sasuke's spine when he heard his voice come out slow and soft, as if testing each word as he spoke it. It was the oddest thing, and internally Sasuke shivered with horror and distaste at his acting. He sounded like one of the men in those romantic films that girls love so much. It was so disturbing and foreign to him, he momentarily forgot that his goal had been to increase his acting range to such characters.

"THAT WAS WONDERFUL SASUKE!" The hyper boy, with a bad hair cut that looked like his parents had taken a bowl to his head and cut his hair, cried and began jumping up and down, waving his arms about frantically. Sasuke was grateful no one else was in the room with them, because he was starting to feel embarrassed for Lee. If only Lee could feel embarrassed for himself.

"YOU REALLY ARE AS AMAZING AS PEOPLE SAY! NEVER HAVE I HEARD SUCH WORDS SPOKEN WITH SUCH PASSION AND TRUTH!" He shouted and clenched his hands into fists, raising them in the air in a fighting pose, and Sasuke could have been going crazy, but he swore he saw flames in Lee's eyes. "THIS MUST BE THE RESULT OF THE BEAUTY AND PASSION OF YOUTH!"

Sasuke sighed. Sometimes he really wished Lee didn't spend so much time with Gai, the P.E. teacher. Lee had been annoying before, but after meeting Gai he had managed to take his annoyingness to a new, unfathomable level.

"Lee is right," came Kakashi's voice from out of nowhere.

Sasuke and Lee vigorously scanned the room for Kakashi's location. No student was brave enough to be in the same room as Kakashi and not know his exact location after the rumors about Kakashi emotionally scarring a student for life in a similar instance. When the two spotted Kakashi standing upstage left, in a shadowed corner and reading a book, neither of them questioned how he managed to enter the room and go all the way across it without them noticing. Everyone had come to accept that Kakashi was a modern day ninja when it came to appearing in random places.

Kakashi glanced over the edge of his book when the teenage boys' eyes landed on him. "Your acting has improved, though I am not sure how much that has to do with _youth_," Kakashi emphasized the last word and pointedly stared at Lee.

Lee huffed and placed his hands on his hips but made no move to argue with Kakashi.

Sasuke, however, was too occupied with his thoughts to notice the interaction between Kakashi and Lee. While his acting had disturbed him, like the time he had first watched Itachi's snake eat a living mouse, his ego was purring with joy. He had done it; he had pulled off acting like a love-struck character. A part of him still couldn't believe that he managed to do such a thing, and so simply too. It was almost an outer body experience. It didn't feel like it was happening to him because as much as he had believed he had the ability to act like such a character, he had never dreamed that he would be able to play a romantic character so suddenly.

Kakashi coughed to clear his throat, and Sasuke was immediately brought back to the situation at hand.

"Now Sasuke I am sure you remember what I said not too long ago, correct?" The masked man asked as he turned a page of his book, briefly looking down to scan it and was then looking up at Sasuke again. "After seeing how you acted today I am willing to raise your grade to ninety-percent. Congratulations, not even Itachi was able to get a score that high."

Was Kakashi crazy? Didn't the mere thought that Sasuke's acting could be a fluke cross the older man's mind? He thought Kakashi out of anyone might take into consideration that Sasuke's acting skills during that scene could have been a big fluke, but all foolish thoughts of protesting against the grade were thrown out the window with the simple mention of his brother.

"Itachi took drama?" Sasuke spat out, not even realizing he was saying it until the words were out of his mouth and hanging in the air.

"Hmmm." Kakashi hummed in thought. "Lee, perhaps you should leave while Sasuke and I talk."

"But I want—" Kakshi cut the energetic boy off with a warning look. Closing his mouth, Lee nodded his head and spun on his heel to turn around, but he made sure to look back at Sasuke with a smile and give the younger boy a thumbs up. "Good luck Sasuke, and may your love life be as beautiful as a lotus flower." With that he skipped out the room. Yes, _skipped_.

Sasuke felt the vein in his forehead twitch at Lee for his words and the fact that he had skipped. Did the boy have no sense of dignity? Why did he always have take things to that level?

"Well now that he is gone," Kakashi trailed off with a sigh and closed his book. He gave Sasuke a pained expression as if being forced to close his book and actually talk directly to his students caused him great anguish. "Yes, Itachi took drama a long time ago. I was just starting as a teacher here and he was angry as hell when I gave him an eighty percent for the very same reasons why I gave the that grade to you."

"Why had Itachi taken drama?" Sasuke asked, still unable to fathom the thought of Itachi in a drama class; the fact that Itachi hadn't gotten a perfect score in it either was even more unbelievable. Itachi succeeded at everything. How could his brother not get a perfect score in what was dubbed a "cake class"?

Kakashi shrugged. "He probably took the class for the same reasons you did."

"And he didn't pass with a perfect score?" Sasuke asked, still unable to believe what Kakashi was telling him.

Sighing in exasperation, Kakashi rolled his visible eye heavenwards. His actions made it seem like he was being tortured. As a teacher shouldn't he be used to his students asking him questions? "Yes, Sasuke. Your brother only got an eighty percent while you currently have a ninety percent and still have time to raise the percentage."

It was impossible! How could he be doing better than his brother in anything? How? Itachi had always been the superior one. How could Sasuke do anything better than Itachi? What factor in Sasuke's life made it so that he could best Itachi at something?

Their lives were so similar, and yet so different that Sasuke wasn't sure which moment or thing in his life could possibly be the cause of his superior acting skills. It couldn't really be…

It was as if a train had hit Sasuke, and he silently cursed himself for not realizing it sooner. The very reason why he had agreed to "dating" Naruto was in hopes of improving his acting skills by observing the blond. However, that didn't make sense, when he had first meet Naruto the boy had been very energetic and positive but after their deal Naruto had mostly fought with him. If anything Sasuke was seeing Naruto's negative side, so how could he be learning anything from being around Naruto?

It was as if the train that had hit had suddenly crashed into a wall and he was splattered between two objects. If he wasn't learning from Naruto than where did that emotion come from?

"So how are things going between you and Naruto?" Kakashi asked abruptly, his voice suddenly chipper, and Sasuke swore the man was smiling beneath his mask. "I see he is having a good effect on you. Before him you couldn't even manage to play a romantic character."

Sasuke scoffed; it was an instinctual reaction.

"What? Is he not the reason?" Kakshi asked cheerfully with an edge of knowledge, as if he knew the answer. Maybe he did.

"Hn. I have my doubts, though the timing fits, doesn't it?" He answered. It was his best answer if he were to be truthful with himself. If Naruto's presence was the reason for his ability to act like a lovesick fool then how did he do it when he was less than cheerful whenever they were together? Strange. Very strange, especially when earlier that day Sasuke had wanted to punch Naruto.

The boy was making him crazy.

"Hmm," Kakashi hummed and his eyes crinkled in amusement. "I am sure he is the reason for why your acting has suddenly improved," Kakashi's amused tone suddenly changed and became nonchalant as he opened his book and stared at a page in it. "He is your boyfriend, correct?"

Naruto truly was making him crazy. Sasuke wasn't completely sure but his instincts were telling that Kakashi knew that Naruto and him were not really dating. The question at the end of Kakashi's sentence made Sasuke feel as if he were being tested.

He had to know. Did Kakshi know about the deal between him and Naruto?

"KAKASHI SENSEI!" Came Lee's voice before the doors to the auditorium burst open and Lee came running in. His brow was furrowed from frowning and the sight made Sasuke's nerves twitch. Lee was rarely seen upset and when he was there was always big trouble.

"KAKASHI SENSEI! YOU NEED TO LET SASUKE OUT OF CLASS! NARUTO GOT IN A FIGHT!"

* * *

**Life's Complications:** Hello readers, I'm sorry this chapter took so long to get out, especially since it was written about six weeks ago. As some you may have guessed, I was planning to have the chapter out a lot sooner than now, however it seems I have lost contact with my beta. I sent her this chapter, but since sending it to her I have not heard from her and it has been over a month. If she does see this chapter and notices that she did not edit it I hope she will understand why I posted it anyway. I also hope that if the spelling and grammar aren't to your, the readers', liking that you will understand why and forgive me.

**Fun Fact:** Sasuke and Lee were originally supposed to be reading lines from A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, but after rereading the scene I realized that the lines were too much and that I focused too much on analyzing the lines. For those of you who remember the last chapter's fun fact and may be wondering if the scene was in the deleted chapter, yes it was.

Also, I had another fun fact planned for this chapter but I can't remember it. So you can think of what I just said as a second fun fact.

**Super Special Awesome "Preview":** There is a well known quote from some unknown place that has reached the Internet and T-shirts, and over time the quote has mutated, so this is the version I know: "A friend will bail you out of jail, but a true friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, but that was fun!'" I think Disney would be proud— oh wait… it's Disney.


	13. Standing Up

Chapter 13

Standing Up

Maybe it was just Naruto's imagination but it seemed like his left cheek was softer than normal. It was definitely more sensitive than normal. Every time his fingertips barely touched his cheek and he would be filled with a strong desire to flinch away from the contact. As much as it hurt to touch his cheek though, he couldn't stop himself from poking at his bizarrely soft cheek. He was entranced that every time he poked the tender side on his face a spark of heat came to life on the spot.

"Dang, he got me pretty good," Naruto hissed and slouched down in his seat.

"It's already turning black."

Naruto straightened and looked towards the person sitting to his left, who was none other than Kiba.

The other boy was a mess! It looked like he had been caught in the middle of a hurricane with his disheveled hair and torn clothes. It also looked like Kiba had gotten in a fight with a paintbrush and had lost. Black, brown, and blue spots littered his bare skin, and made him look like a leopard. He was covered in bruises and the satisfied smile on his face told Naruto that Kiba didn't care, and gladly repeat the episode that gave him said bruises.

"Gotta say though," Kiba continued, "As bad as the two of us look, I think we got him better than he got us."

"Yeah…" Naruto trailed off, letting his mind wander back to the event that happened less than fifteen minutes ago.

_The day was going to hell in a ramen cup as far as Naruto was concerned. His first class had been a pain in his side. Everyone had stared at him like he had grown a pair of breast and lost his dick, which to most he might was well have. Some people were brave enough to try to mess with him in class by doing childish things, like throwing paper balls at him or knocking into him as he walked across the room to sharpen his pencil. The worst were the people who tried to be really friendly and sensitive towards him; as if he were some poor fragile doll, or a weak child. _

_There had only been two things to make his first class bearable. The first had been when his teacher had walked into the room, shortly after Naruto had, and forced one of the kids who had been snickering at the blonde's misfortune to give up their desk to him, while they sat on the floor. The second was the few people who didn't treat him any differently. They just sat at their desks and acted how they always did. That didn't mean they ignored their fellow classmates actions completely though. They watched how the other kids acted differently around him, and some of the more outspoken ones tried to stop the cruel kids from picking on him, while the rest just frowned and looked at the teacher for help. _

_He had been so happy to get out of the classroom not even the fact that he had P.E. as his next class bothered him. He had walked into the boy's locker room, anxious to play some violent sport that would allow him to release some of his pent up rage. He had just finished putting in his locker combination and had started to open his locker when a pale hand came from behind him and slammed the door close. _

_Naruto flinched as metal slammed into metal. He watched as the hand that had slammed his locker door to a close withdrew. He followed it with an angry glare and scowl as he turned to see the owner of the appendage. All feelings of rage had vanish instantly as he stared up at a guy that looked more freaky than Sasuke. _

_Sakon was not the most popular guy but he's name was known among the students. He had strangely colored hair that could be debated as being a shade of gray with a blue tint; it really was a matter of opinion because no one had ever seen a shade like it before. His skin was pale and he was one of the boys brave enough in the school to wear make up. Green lipstick glossed his lips and eye shadow lined his eyes. It was because of his skin tone and choice in make up that he was labeled as "a goth", though he certainly wasn't the suicidal or "emo" type of goth. He was more like the murderous, crazy, and sadist kind of goth. _

"_Get out of the locker room, Fag." A pleasant smile decorated Sakon's face, contradicting with the poisonous and hated-filled tone of his voice. _

_The anger Naruto had felt returned just as fast as it had left him and he stared defiantly up at Sakon. "No! Why should I leave? I have to get dressed for P.E."_

_The smile on Sakon's face grew as if he had been waiting for Naruto's question, which he probably had been, knowing his type. "You are gay. We can't have you leering at all of us innocent young men. Go to the girl's locker room. Here, I'll even help you." _

_Before Naruto knew what was happening Sakon had grabbed a hold of his wrist and was pulling him out of the locker room. _

"_Let go, you bastard!" Naruto shouted and yanked his wrist out of his offender's hold. _

_Sakon didn't seem fazed at all by Naruto's insult or resistance. If anything his smile grew in size and wickedness. It was as if he were just trying to work Naruto into a frenzy. Maybe he was? "Now, now Naruto," he said as if Naruto were some misbehaving child. Naruto's hands had balled into fist and he could feel the tips of his nails pressing dangerously close to his skin in his attempt to control himself._

"_You belong in girl's locker room." Sakon went on, not sensing the danger he was putting himself in. "After all, you really don't expect anyone to believe that you are the one on top in your relationship. You are too much of a whiny brat to dominate anyone. Plus your voice is so high pitched anyone could mistake you for a girl."_

_Naruto's body felt hot. It was as if he was standing in the middle of a fire and the flames were licking at him. He also felt like there was a boulder on top of his chest keeping him in place, and as much as he wanted to remove it, he could not allow the boulder to budge. He was trapped in an inferno of burning rage. If they were anywhere else other than school campus he would have beat the life out of Sakon by now. _

_As much as his fury consumed him though, a small piece of him whispered doubts and confusion to him._

_Did being with Sasuke make him less of a man in everyone's eyes? How was that possible? He was still the same person he had been before this whole thing began. No one had thought less of him then or even called him a girl unless it was in a joking manner. Why was he less of a man now? It didn't make sense. None of it made sense._

_"HEY SAKON! YOU LITTLE BITCH! DON'T BE JEALOUS BECAUSE NARUTO CAN ACTUALLY GET A BOYFRIEND, UNLIKE YOU!" Kiba's voice echoed in the locker room and suddenly every single set of eyes were on Naruto and Sakon, with Kiba slowly entering the staring zone._

_The smile was gone from Sakon's face and replaced by a scowl. "Why would I be jealous when I am not gay?"_

"_You could have fooled me by the way you dress," Kiba said cockily._

_He couldn't believe it. It was like the day he had discovered ramen: a miracle. Was Kiba, the guy he had fought with not long ago, really helping him? He had been hoping to talk to Kiba and apologize, but maybe he wouldn't have to. Maybe Kiba had already forgiven him? Maybe they could just go back to being friends and pretend their fight never happened? _

_The very thought made Naruto glow with joy, that is until Sakon threw a punch at Kiba. _

_With a clang, Kiba's body crushed into the metal lockers. _

_No one punched his friends and got away with it!_

_Every bit of anger Naruto had felt that day pooled into his stomach and ate his insides, igniting his body once again with fury, but this time he did not hold it back. He let his fists clench and sent his right one flying right into Sakon's face. He watched as the boy fell to the ground, however the boy was up in a matter of seconds. Sakon was throwing punches at him, and beside himself Naruto knew Kiba was fighting as well, everything else was a blur. All he comprehended was the burning sensation within him._

And thus he was now sitting in a small, blue, plastic chair in front of the school counselor's office with Kiba seated next to him in a similar, but green, chair. Positioned not far away was a small wooden desk where one of the many school secretaries sat and typed away at an old computer. Naruto assumed part of her job was to make sure kids who _had to_ meet with the counselor didn't run off. It had to be one of the worst and annoying jobs on the planet. Boring too, because besides the computer the only things the secretary could look at to entertain herself with were a bunch of old news paper clippings and weird motivational posters on the walls of the room.

Too bad there wasn't a motivational poster for what to do when you were seated next to your best friend who you had a fight with a couple of days ago, and who less than an hour ago was helping you beat up some close-minded ass. He was grateful that Kiba had come to his aid. Heck, he was so grateful he would get up and dance like a fool if Kiba asked him to. However, he wasn't grateful enough to give Kiba any of his ramen. He would take Kiba out for ramen, but that was as far as he would go. Of course, he couldn't take Kiba out for ramen if they were still fighting, which Naruto had no idea if they were or not.

For all Naruto knew Kiba had helped him because it was the lesser evil. Like chasing down a ramen thief instead of turning in a psychopathic murder to the police. Everyone knows catching a ramen thief is more important, except for Sasuke, who obviously has no taste if he dislikes ramen.

So had Kiba cooled down and forgiven Naruto, or had he helped him beat up Sakon for other reasons?

The best way to find the answer would be to just ask, but Naruto's lips wouldn't move. He was slouched in his chair with his head angled so he could look at his possible friend but his lips were cemented together. His lips might as well have been part of a statue for all the strength he used to try and move them so he could ask the question.

Kiba raised an eyebrow at him with wide eyes. He then leaned his body only a centimeter away from Naruto and narrowed his eyes. Suspicion and weak annoyance glowed in his eyes. "Is there a reason why you are looking at me?" He then got a cocky smile on his face that could almost rival Sasuke's arrogant smirk. "Besides the fact that I am incredibly good-looking that is."

"You're good-looking to people with dog fetishes," Naruto scoffed, and secretly jumped for joy when his lips finally started moving. Oh god of ramen! Thank goodness! Finally he could get some answers and settle things with Kiba!

…If only his lips hadn't glued themselves back together!

Naruto was ready to pull his hair out. What was wrong with him? It was a simple question. Why had Kiba decided to get involved with the fight between Sakon and Naruto? Simple, right? So why couldn't he say it? Sure it was more than five words, but Naruto was pretty sure it was less than twenty!

Sighing in defeat, Naruto raised his hands to rub his temples to get rid of a growing headache when he realized by sighing he had moved his lips again, and yet had not asked his question! He threw his arms in the air. This was ridiculous! Had Sakon done something to his brain? That was the last thing he needed. If Sasuke found out that he was really brain damaged he would never let Naruto live it down. Agh! He'd also have to deal with Kiba making fun of him too!

…

The weirdest feeling thrummed through Naruto's body at the thought of Kiba making fun of him. It was like an alarm clock had gone off in his head, and with it there was a flash of light or something along with a flow of information that he couldn't fully process. It was like when he had found a bag of lost puzzle pieces to various puzzles and he had to figure out which went to which puzzle. Whatever the feeling was it was triggered by Kiba, so Naruto figured that would be the best place to start.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he glanced at Kiba. Besides staring at Naruto like he had grown a second head there was nothing unusual about his friend, or ex-friend. Who could really blame Kiba for staring at him in such a strange way anyway? If Naruto had just witnessed Kiba flail his arms about he'd definitely stare at the other boy and throw in an insult as well.

…Wait.

Kiba hadn't insulted him! He hadn't insulted Naruto after the dog fetish comment or after Naruto had acted like a lunatic. That was not normal. That was like taking a kid into a candy store and the kid saying they rather have vegetables! It was unthinkable, and a sign of the apocalypse.

Naruto stared unabashedly at Kiba, until the boy got annoyed and crossed his arms over his chest, stared forward, and pretended to ignore Naruto.

Like the last time Naruto wanted to ask Kiba a question he couldn't make his lips move. It was a pain too, because his internal voice was screaming at him to make sure his best friend was alright.

"Will you stop staring," Kiba finally snapped, but kept his gaze locked on the wall in front of him.

"Thanks," Naruto blurted out and wanted to smack himself the moment the word left his lips. However, when that moment ended the desire to hit himself vanished, and all that remained was the quiet echo of relief in his mind and body.

No longer was Kiba staring at the wall, but at _him_. Sure, Kiba was giving him that look that made Naruto think Kiba was counting how many heads he had but he was fine with that. Actually, he wouldn't have cared if Kiba had shown him the middle finger in response to his comment (okay, maybe he would have a little). Saying such a small and simple word had been freeing. He had been putting so much pressure on himself to figure out what was going on with Kiba that finally saying something was enough take a weight off of his shoulders.

"Why are you thanking me, Idiot?" Kiba asked, his words worse than his tone.

"You helped me," Naruto answered. "I hadn't even apologized to you, and you still decided to help me."

Kiba shrugged, trying to act like it was nothing, but Naruto could see through his act. He knew that Kiba recognized the significance in his actions.

"Why did you help me?" Finally! He could die a happy teenage boy now. Why had it taken so long and required so much effort to ask something so simple?

Kiba scoffed and looked away from Naruto, causing the blonde's shoulder blades to twitch with tension. Was there something wrong with the question he had asked? Was that why he had struggled so much with just getting the words out of his mouth? Had he somehow subconsciously known that Kiba would react badly to the question?

…That would actually be kind of awesome.

Mentally, shaking his head at himself, Naruto tried not let his thoughts wander down the path of how amazing it would be to have superhuman powers. He needed to focus on his friend, or another fight might break out between them, though even that didn't seem likely with the way Kiba kept silent.

"Come on, talk to me!" Naruto whined and leaned forward in his seat so Kiba had to see him from the corner of his eyes. The action caused Kiba to blink twice before turning his head just enough so he was looking Naruto in the eye. The action made Naruto smile. "Stop acting like Sasuke, and tell me what you are thinking about," he joked.

The joking tone in Naruto voice was ignored as once again Kiba scoffed. "What I am thinking is that I really don't want to hear you talk about your boyfriend right now." The words weren't callous; in fact they sounded more annoyed and tired than anything. Still, a pang of guilt, like the leftover sting after a shot, rang in Naruto's chest. He had just wanted to make his friend happy, seeing that his attempt at joking had the opposite effect left him feeling like a bad guy.

He had to fix things between him and Kiba, and so, taking a deep breath to calm himself, Naruto tried to gather all of the thoughts that had been running through his head since he had fought with Kiba. It wasn't enough to make an eloquent speech or anything but it would have to do. "I still don't know what you meant that day," he confessed.

Naruto paused, waiting for a reaction from Kiba, when he didn't get one he sighed again and ran a hand through his spiky hair. Things were worse than he thought if Kiba hadn't taken his opportunity to yell at Naruto and call him stupid and dense. It was going to be a challenge, but Naruto was going to find some way to fix his relationship with his best friend. "I have been thinking it over and over but I can't think of what you meant when you said I was angry at something else and not you. I'm pretty sure I was mad at you."

A combination between a cough and snort came from Kiba. Unsure what the sound meant, Naruto looked his friend over. Nothing was different; Kiba was still looking at him and had his arms crossed defensively over his chest. Nerves twitching beneath his skin and insecurity leaking into his bloodstream, Naruto ignored the alarms going off in his head and continued. "As I was saying… I'm pretty sure I was mad at you, but…"

Biting his bottom lip, Naruto practically threw his back against his seat and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Argh! Listen, I am not sure exactly what it is I want to say. All I know is that I still want to be your friend. I know I have been acting different lately, and I know it's frustrating. I know you are mad at me, and I can even understand why, but you have to understand I have my reasons."

"Your overly complicated reasons," Kiba grumbled and rolled his eyes heavenwards as if he had heard it all before. The action made Naruto want to snap at his friend but he controlled himself. As frustrated as he was he couldn't let himself get in another fight with Kiba; not if he wanted to remain friends with the other boy.

That didn't mean he couldn't raise his voice a bit. "Yes, it's complicated! I know you don't like that excuse, but it is what is."

"It's only complicated if you make it."

Was he talking to a broken record? That was exactly what Kiba had said the last time they had talked. Argh! Okay, he just had to break through that thick skull of Kiba's, and the best way to do that would be to give Kiba a taste of his own medicine.

"You mean like how you are making this whole moment more complicated than necessary?" The question had Kiba silent in a matter of seconds, and Naruto smirking internally. Maybe Sasuke was rubbing off on him because he knew before Sasuke he probably would not have thought of such a good comeback; now to take advantage of his friend's bitter silence. "All I want is to be your friend. I want you to know that I feel guilty for making you mad; that doesn't mean I think I was completely wrong for what I did. I have my reasons. I'll tell you those reasons eventually but you are going to have to wait until then."

"…"

"…"

"…"

Was Kiba really not going to say anything? Naruto rather bang his head repeatedly on a cement wall if Kiba was really going to keep silent after spilling his guts out like that. Hadn't he made it clear already that he was sorry and wanted to be friends again? Was Kiba really going to be a hypocritical prick and not accept his apology? If so Sasuke would soon find he had competition on the "People who annoy Naruto" list.

"Are we friends or what?" Naruto finally demanded.

"Do you really think I would have helped you if I didn't still think of you as friend?"

_Huh? _

Suddenly the arms Kiba had kept pressed to his chest lowered to his abdomen as he hugged himself and laughed. Either Naruto had missed something or his friend had suddenly turned into The Joker from the batman series, not as deadly though. It wasn't like Naruto had said anything funny. He hadn't even made a funny face so why would-

"Were you pretending to be mad at me?" Naruto shouted as realization hit him like a boot to the head. His angry tone should have made Kiba stop laughing, but the boy's infuriating sound only increased in volume. It didn't take a genius to realize the answer to Naruto's question. "You ass! I'm spilling my guts out, thinking that this may be the end of our friendship, and you were just pretending to be mad!"

Tears were building in corner of Kiba's eyes from laughing so hard, and a vengeful part of Naruto wished those tears were caused by his fists hitting Kiba in the face. He'd just have to remember to hit Kiba later when the secretary wasn't around to witness it.

There was another howl of laughter from Kiba before the other boy started taking deep breaths to calm down. It didn't seem to do much since every time it sounded like he had stopped laughing another round of laughter would soon ensue; it was driving Naruto insane. Finally, Kiba managed to say something between laughing and breathing. "Ki-Kind of."

"'Kind of"?" Naruto repeated and mimicked Kiba's earlier pose with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm still mad," Kiba admitted, the laughter in his voice replaced with seriousness that left the rest of room sounding silent. He didn't look mad as he sat in his seat looking at the wall in front of him. He didn't even look sad or hurt, it was like he was somewhere else, and maybe he was. It was a different look for Kiba and almost distant, which caused Naruto to squirm in his seat. "Even now, looking back on that day I almost want to punch you."

_Then why did you laugh and act like everything was a joke?_ Naruto silently demanded but didn't say, somehow sensing that he shouldn't interrupt his friend.

"You're such an idiot."

_Yeah, well, you're no genius yourself._

"You're still my friend though. I may want to punch you, kick you in the stomach, humiliate you in front of the whole school—"

"I get it, Kiba," Naruto interrupted dryly, grimacing as each image entered his mind. Not that he'd ever let Kiba actually do those things to him, but he could imagine the pain for each situation and it made him want to wince. Of course Kiba, the ever cocky little jerk that he is, thought that he could, and so he just smiled and leaned back in his chair as if he had already beaten Naruto, and as much as Naruto didn't want to, he smiled back. "So we're friends."

"Heck yes!" Kiba proclaimed, and the next thing Naruto knew, he was captured in a headlock and got the hugest noogie of his life; it wasn't an exaggeration either. Kiba was rubbing his fist against Naruto's head so hard the blond was seeing stars like that cartoon roadrunner. "You may piss me off but we have known each for so long that it would be a waste to call it quits now!"

"Let go of me, Dog Breath! Argh! If I get fleas I'm going to kick your ass!" Naruto screamed as he failed in Kiba's grasp.

"Like you have the strength," Kiba laughed and pressed his knuckles deeper into Naruto's skull. It was a good thing Kiba didn't have super human strength, or in his teasing he might have actually cracked Naruto's skull open, and then the janitor would be left to clean up the spilt brain. Poor janitor.

Though any pity Naruto felt for the school's janitor would soon be diminished if Kiba did not stop trying to give him a giant bruise on his head. Placing both of his hands on the arm wrapped tightly around his neck, Naruto tried to tug his head out of Kiba's hold. The event reminded Naruto vaguely of a time when he'd seen two girls had been trying help their friend get a ring off of her finger; tough and almost seemingly impossible, but very rewarding in the end for the girls.

In his head Naruto could hear a "pop" as his head slipped out of the hold and fresh air rushed into his lungs. His hand shot to his neck and he frowned when he realized Kiba had been cutting off his airflow. "Hey! Next time try not to choke me!"

"Don't get mad at me if you can't handle a little fun."

"I can—" The soft click of the counselor's office door opening silenced Naruto and brought his attention back to why Kiba and him were there in the first place; it certainly wasn't because it was their usual hang out.

Emerging from the well-lit room known as the counselor's office, was the last person Naruto wanted to see that day, unless it was to continue beating them up. Scowling at his friend and him was none other than Sakon with a cut on his forehead, a black eye on his right eye and a matching bruise on his left cheek. The sight turned Naruto's blood into lava while it also made Naruto's heart feel like a bursting star. He wouldn't lie, he was proud of what he done. Sakon had had no right to say what he did and no right to hurt Kiba. However, as proud as he was he felt no satisfaction; he was still angry at the boy and didn't know what to do to fix it. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to fix it.

As much as he wanted to continue his fight with Sakon he wasn't stupid enough to do something so foolish, much to what Naruto's was sure would be Sasuke's surprise. Next to him Naruto could feel Kiba tense. A quick sideways glance told him that Kiba was clenching his fists in his lap and openly glaring at the boy who had thrown the fist punch. Sakon returned the deadly look, and even dared to aim it at Naruto.

The angry look was nothing compared to Sasuke's. Sakon's glare was like stare from a furious cat while Sasuke was like a snake's; dangerous and a promise to slowly kill with poison if angered further. Being so weak in comparison, Naruto didn't even consider any negative repercussions in returning the glare and scowl.

A low sound like a growl was emitted from the pale boy. Suddenly his hand was raised and he was pointing at Kiba. In an instant, Naruto had jumped out of his seat with his body poised to strike if Sakon tried anything funny. "You!" The beat up boy barked, ignoring Naruto, "The counselor wants to see you next."

With his finger still pointing at Kiba, Sakon remained standing in the doorway of the office. Seconds ticked by in which Naruto and Kiba waited impatiently for the other boy to get of the way. However, when the boy didn't move Kiba was left with only one option. With a grunt as he stood up from his seat, Kiba shoved his hands in his pants' pockets and walked towards Sakon. The boy still didn't move, and Naruto could feel a vein twitching under skin at the boy's attempt to provoke them. Even with the school counselor sitting in the other room, Sakon still had the nerve to block Kiba's path, even though the boy was standing only a few inches away from him waiting for Sakon to stand aside. When the pale boy remained in place Kiba used his shoulder to shove his way past Sakon.

Sakon shot a dirty look over his shoulder as Kiba brushed past him, but remained silent. From somewhere behind Sakon, Naruto could hear a soft voice ask Kiba to shut the door. There was a grumble from Kiba but the boy must have obeyed because within a second the door was shut, and Sakon's furious gaze was shifted back to Naruto.

"Fag," the pale boy spat venomously.

"What?" Naruto clenched his fists and glanced towards the secretary sitting not too far away. The woman was looking up from her computer and intently watching Sakon and Naruto. Her brow was furrowed and she had deeply troubled frown on her face. She probably wanted to get involved and stop them from fighting but something was holding her back. She probably wanted them to solve the problem on their own; that's what most adults want kids to do, right? "What is you're problem? Why do you care who I like? You know, maybe Kiba was right. Maybe you are jealous?"

"Don't be an idiot, if you can help it. I am not—"

"He can't help it."

Immediately Naruto's head snapped to the side just in time to watch Sasuke enter the room and take his place in Kiba's seat. With one leg crossed over the other and his back leaning against the back of the plastic chair he looked comfortable and annoyed at once. The sight of his fake boyfriend sitting where his best friend had been, while he, Naruto, was about to get a fight with Sakon was more than a little bewildering. Was Sasuke appearance a good thing or a bad one, and just why would Sasuke be there anyway?

"Wha-What did you say?" Sakon demanded, the stutter in his words tipping Naruto off to his own unease about their new visitor.

"'He can't help it,'" Sasuke repeated nonchalantly. "Naruto can't help but be an idiot."

And just like that Naruto's foul mood became like a thundercloud over his head. "Excuse me?" At least he now knew that Sasuke's presence was_ not_ a good sign.

Then again, Sasuke had done a good job of silencing Sakon. The cruel boy's jaw had dropped just enough that a fly could enter his mouth while his eyes were widened in a wonderful array of emotions. Naruto could detect anger, annoyance, maybe some amusement, shock, and confusion, all of which were in a giant tug of war to be the one that appeared most prominently on Sakon's face. If Naruto were to guess, he would have to say confusion was beating the other emotions.

Finally, Sakon found words to speak, but it was nothing Naruto had been expecting to hear. "Did you just insult your boyfriend?"

"Yeah." Sasuke shrugged. "What's your point?"

_Oh ramen!_ Naruto exclaimed mentally. _And he was complaining to me about blowing our cover yesterday? What a freaking hypocrite! _Naruto didn't know whether to laugh in bitter amusement or to bash his head in a wall. Maybe he could do both?

As Naruto was left to contemplate what action to take, Sakon looked back and forth between the two fake boyfriends. Even the secretary, who had been a witness to the past events was glancing between the two. Finally, Sakon just shook his head and began to walk towards the exit, but paused when he got close to Naruto. For a brief moment Sakon locked gazes with Naruto.

"I knew gays were a little sick in the head, but to enjoy being insulted by your boyfriend…" Sakon didn't finish. He just shook his head and continued to leave.

"Hey! Don't stereotype my people! Sasuke is just a freak!" Naruto shouted after Sakon's departing back. He wasn't going to let Sakon get away with such a rude and ignorant comment. Plus, Sasuke really was weird.

"'My people'?" Sasuke inquired.

Spinning on his feet, Naruto whirled his body around so he was facing Sasuke. He didn't want to hear any of Sasuke's negativity at the moment and so he quickly snapped back with, "Yes, 'my people'! Your people too, in case you have forgotten." Naruto tilted his head in the direction of the secretary, who had gone back to typing at her computer, though Naruto was sure she was watching them from the corner of her eye. He hoped Sasuke was catching on to what he was trying to say, which was that someone was nearby and there had better not be any talk about _pretending_ to be boyfriends.

"Still, 'my people', it sounds a little self righteous," Sasuke pointed out.

"Yeah well…" Naruto took his seat next to Sasuke as he tried to put words to what he was feeling. Maybe it was self righteousness, but he didn't feel like that was a bad thing. "I was just really angry with him grouping all gays together. I mean, I am a different person than you, and I know there are other people out there that are different too. For him to assume every gay person acts the same…" Naruto gritted his teeth when felt his rage build up within him. His blood had returned to feeling like molten lava, and that lava was ready pour out of him and scorch everything it touched. "It just really burns my ramen."

"Hn."

Clasping his hands together in his lap, he bent over them and closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to calm down and think clearly instead of getting so worked up over something one idiot said. If only he could focus on something else, something like…

"Hey Sasuke?"

"Hn." The older boy was kind enough to glance down at the bent over blond. The Uchiha's forehead crinkled in what Naruto assumed was a mixture of confusion and annoyance at the position but he did not comment.

"Why are you here? Don't you have class?"

Suddenly, Sasuke was no longer looking at him but at the same wall Kiba had been staring at earlier, causing Naruto to roll his eyes. Honestly, why couldn't people just look at him instead of a wall? What was so appealing about a wall? The wall had been getting more attention that day than him!

"Lee wouldn't stop yelling at me to make sure you were okay."

"Wait? Rock Lee?" Sasuke nodded, and Naruto frowned. "Lee wouldn't yell at you. That's completely out of character. He might have shouted an overly passionate speech, but he wouldn't _yell_ at you."

"Whatever," Sasuke straightened in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. "He was loud and annoying, and I wanted him to shut up."

"Wait! How did Lee know I was in a fight?"

"How should I know?"

Had the newspaper thing gotten so out of hand that people were now spying on him and reporting his every move? Sure, a little gossip was expected, but to know that news of his fight with Sakon was already floating about, when it hadn't even been an hour, was both shocking and disconcerting. If word had spread so fast in school then what were the chances of the media getting its hands on the information?

"Ah crap!" Naruto cursed grabbed the sides of his head. "Don't tell me this fight is going to get in the news! There has to be some privacy protection thing for minors that won't allow the media to report on the fight, right?" Naruto looked at Sasuke for confirmation, but Sasuke, ever truthful, shook his head. "Agh! Now I am going to get a lecture from Jiraiya!"

"I tried to warn you," Sasuke mumbled, still not facing Naruto as he spoke.

"Shut up you—" Naruto snapped, sat up straight, and let his hands drop to his sides to form fists but he cut himself off. For a moment he stared at Sasuke and searched his memory for what Sasuke was referring to. The Uchiha wasn't lying, he had warned him and Naruto had brushed off Sasuke's warnings to disguise his own doubt. While it may have been a low blow to mock Naruto by bringing it up Naruto could care less when he came to a startling realization.

Sasuke had actually been trying to be _nice_ to him that morning.

Grinning from ear to ear, Naruto's face beamed greater than the sun. This caused the Uchiha to glance warily at the blond from the corner of his eye before focusing his entire gaze on that attention-hogging wall to try and hide the unnerving feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"You like me!" Naruto accused playfully.

Naruto's grin grew when Sasuke's head snapped to look at him before he tried to hide it and snapped his head back so he was looking at the wall. "Hn. Don't be delusional." Sasuke could deny it all he wanted, he could even continue to burn holes in the wall with his gaze, but Naruto knew the truth. The Uchiha liked him and he was just too prideful for his own good to admit it.

"Don't lie, Teme," Naruto jabbed Sasuke in the side with his elbow, earning an irritated grunt and scowl from his fake boyfriend. "You know you like me. Why else would you try to warn me about the media?"

"I don't need my image tarnished by you," Sasuke offered resentfully.

"Just admit it Sasuke.; you like me."

"Hn."

"I don't hear a 'no'."

"I think calling you delusional is saying, 'no'."

True. Sasuke had a point, but it was so much fun pressing the issue. Every time Naruto suggested that Sasuke liked him the Uchiha's shoulders would press closer together and his posture would become tense. It was subtle and normally Naruto would be too distracted to notice the signs of stress and irritation, but there was no one there to take his attention away from Sasuke.

"I'm your _boyfriend_, you have to like me," Naruto reasoned, enjoying the delicious moment of power he had over Sasuke.

"Hn."

"You two are so cute!" The secretary suddenly squealed, interrupting the two teens' bickering. Her hands were cupped together near her mouth and her eyes sparkled with joy as she stared at the two with adoration. "You remind me of my boyfriend and I when we first started dating. You two are just so cute!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

_Well_, Naruto thought, _that was thoroughly embarrassing._

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

A hanging potted plant was the first thing Naruto noticed when he stepped into the counselor's office after ten minutes of awkward silence outside. The second thing Naruto noticed were pictures of teenagers on the furthest wall. Pictures covered it from head to toe, except for on the window, though Naruto could have been wrong about the window part; the blinds were down so he couldn't actual see if the window was bare. Naruto recognized some of people in the photos as students from the school. In each photo kids were smiling and posing with friends, winning awards, making silly faces, or working on some project in a classroom.

The unusual sight was… comforting. The pictures made the room feel safe and friendly. Though, if Naruto ever found out that the counselor had a wall at home dedicated to his students then he would run to the nearest police station, and inform the public about the possible pedophile.

So captured by the hundreds of different faces on the wall, Naruto didn't even look at the counselor until the man cleared his throat.

A young, adult, brunet male wore a smile that matched the many on his wall. He didn't look like what Naruto expected a counselor to look like. Besides being young, he also had long hair tied in a ponytail and scar running across the dark skin on the bridge of his nose. He was dressed in casual attire and didn't look mean. He also kindly gestured for Naruto to take a seat in the dark brown chair in front of the matching desk he sat at.

"Hello Naruto," The man greeted as Naruto pulled out the chair and took a seat in it. The chair was only a little better than the cheap plastic one outside.

Sitting on the edge of the desk closest to Naruto was a golden nameplate that Naruto quickly read silently. _Iruka Umino_.

"Huh, hi?" Naruto hesitated. He had been prepared for a bitter old man and not such a friendly looking guy after the way Kiba had stormed off after talking to him. Was the man even out of college yet? He looked so young. He could be Naruto's older brother it appeared.

"It seems you have gotten yourself into a bit of trouble," Iruka remarked.

"Yeah. Um hey, why am I talking to you anyway? Shouldn't I have been sent to the principal's office or something?" Naruto asked, still unsure about the situation.

"The principal is at a conference in another city, and the vice principal is in an important meeting, though we have been emailing and she agrees with what has to be done," Iruka explained.

"Oh," Naruto glanced at the computer sitting on the right side of the desk, turned just enough so someone from Naruto's position couldn't see the screen. However, the soft glow from screen was an obvious indication that it was on. "So what's going to happen?"

At this Iruka's smile transformed into a frown and he sighed. "Sadly, Sakon and Kiba have been suspended for fighting on school grounds."

"But Sakon started it though!" Naruto rebuked. "That's unfair! Kiba shouldn't be punished. He was just trying to help me deal with Sakon!" Kiba was not going to get suspended because of him; he wouldn't allow it. Sakon was the one who had been a prick. It was like all of the recent super hero movies that were popular currently. Kiba was like Spiderman; he tried to do the right thing and now everyone wanted to make him out to be a bad guy. "You can't punish Kiba."

"I'm sorry but the school doesn't care who started the fight. If any student is involved in a fight then they will be suspended," Iruka calmly informed Naruto. "However, you are an exception to the rule."

Naruto blinked. "Wait, What? I thought we were talking about Kiba. Why are we talking about me?"

"We were talking about Kiba," Iruka admitted while eyes darted to the computer screen before returning to Naruto. "However, I really shouldn't be talking to you about him, and what is going to be done about you is more prominent." Leaning over his desk a bit Iruka went from looking calm to looking curious with a serious air. "Naruto, you do realize that under normal circumstances you would be suspended for a week, along with Kiba and Sakon, correct?"

"What do you mean 'normally'?" He didn't want to answer Iruka's question, even if his answer was a simple "yes". It didn't take much for Naruto to figure out that something was off, and he didn't like it.

"Naruto, did you know that one of your other teachers has reported that you were picked on in class today?" Naruto shook his head, and Iruka's brow furrowed with worry and concern as he frowned. "Did you know that a report was turned in not long ago, from another teacher, informing me and others about a student being verbally prejudice against you?" Once again, Naruto shook his head, and the worry lines on Iruka's forehead increased.

So his teachers had reported everything that had happened in his classes? What did this mean? Was he in more trouble? Were they blaming him for others lashing out at him? He hadn't done anything though!

"Naruto…" Iruka paused, released a breath, and rubbed one of his temples. "Due to the prejudice attitude your classmates have displayed, the school is worried about you. One of the worries is that the cruel treatment of your peers may hurt your grades, and so after emailing your teachers, all of them have agreed to give you outside projects for a final instead of any in-class assignment. Along with that you will not have to attend most of your classes. Due to scheduling you will have to attend your last two classes everyday though."

"…" Naruto could feel his eyes turn into saucers and his mouth hang open. Distantly he felt like he was dancing inside, but that was the problem; he _distantly_ felt like he was dancing with joy deep inside his core. A week ago he would have gladly accepted what Iruka said but after the day's events he felt more insulted than happy. "Is this because I am Sasuke's boyfriend?"

"It's not because you are Sasuke's boyfriend," Iruka clarified, "however, it is because of what that title implies, and how your classmates have reacted to it that has led to this decision."

"That's not right!" Naruto shouted and slammed his hands down on the desk. "I shouldn't be treated differently because of who I chose to date, and shouldn't we be talking about me getting suspended for fighting?"

"You are not going to be suspended for fighting. Not being allowed to attend most of your classes for the rest of the year is seen as punishment enough."

"What?" Naruto gawked and then shook his head, trying to clear it. "Are you serious?" Iruka nodded his head. "That is messed up! If Kiba is getting suspended then so should I, and I shouldn't be removed from most of my classes! Don't I have to be in school for a certain amount of hours per year? You can't force me to miss that much school." Okay, so maybe to most kids he was acting crazy. Who in their right mind would _ask_ for suspension? However, the situation called for it. Naruto didn't want to be treated any differently because of his sexual preference.

"I am sorry," Iruka spoke gently, and Naruto felt himself calm down a bit from the sincerity in the man's voice, however he was still furious. "However, the decision has been made and it can't be changed. I understand your desire to not be treated differently, but Naruto, you just have to look out my window to see that you are different, or to the world you are."

Naruto frowned and pushed his seat back as he scrutinized the blinds covering the window. "What are you talking about?"

"Take a look for yourself." Before Iruka finished his sentence Naruto was out of his seat and standing in front of the window. He raised his hand to touch the blinds. He let his fingers rest on the blinds as his thoughts ran rampant.

What did Iruka mean he was different? He was the same person he had been a month ago. He liked the same TV shows, games, and foods. He still had a crush on Sakura and he still had the habit of saying stupid things. If he was the same as everyone else in the world before then what would make him different now? He had to know, and so taking a gulp, Naruto used his fingers to move the blinds just enough so he could peer out the window without anyone on the other side being able to see him, and was soon grateful he had done that.

Outside, standing in front of the school, were ten to twenty different men and women, and each had either a microphone or a camera. "Are they here because of the picture in the newspaper?" Naruto asked even though he knew the answer.

"Yes," Iruka answered, "and think what would happen if they ever found out about you getting in fights with your fellow classmates because of your sexuality? I know it seems unfair Naruto, but the school is just trying to keep you safe from your peers and the media."

"There is some good news though." Naruto, who had been looking out the window from his little peephole, turned his head so he was facing Iruka. Then, doing a very Sasuke-like thing, he raised an inquiring eyebrow. The reaction pleased Iruka and some of the serious and somber atmosphere dissolved between the two. "You were right when you said that you are required to be at school for a certain amount of hours, which is why you will still be coming to school. As I am sure you know, Graduation is approaching. Every year drama students help set up for the event during the last few weeks of school and Mr. Hatake would like your help with setting up for the event. The drama students are more open-minded than most, and Sasuke should be there for moral support—"

_That's doubtful,_ Naruto interrupted mentally. Sasuke may like him but that didn't mean the other boy was going to give him his shoulder to cry on; not that Naruto wanted his shoulder. :

"Helping with the event will take up your time before lunch period. You can do as you please during lunch, but after lunch I would like you to come to my office to talk. After talking you will go to your last two classes."

"And I get no say in this," Naruto stated flatly, not liking for one moment what he was hearing.

"Sadly, yes."

* * *

**Special Note:** I want to clarify something in this chapter. At one point Naruto mentions that there are three types of people that he has to deal with: people who pick on him, people who are overly nice to him, and people who haven't changed their character around him. I'm concerned some people may not understand the difference between the last two types of people. The reason why the overly nice people are just as bad as the ones who pick on him is because they are reacting to his sexual orientation and treating him differently. They themselves may even be acting out of character, which makes their kindness seem almost fake and really forced (Not to say that all people like this are liars or anything like that). People who treat Naruto the same are being true themselves and are showing their acceptance without trying to shove it down his throat or prove it to him. I could go on, but here is a basic expalanation of what was going through my mind when I wrote the scene.

**Fun Fact: **Since I am not hundred percent sure if I have said one of these facts before I will give you guys two (Also, one is more for clarification rather than fun). 1.) Naruto's school schedule may seem incorrect at times, since in one chapter he'll have his math class in the morning, and then in another he has it in the afternoon, but it is correct. It was always intended for Naruto to have a schedule that changed everyday. Of course, this means Sasuke's Schedule is always changing too. 2.) The fun fact I forgot last chapter was that the opening scene with Sasuke, in that very chapter, was inspired by a song called "Stuck" sung by Stacie Orrico.

**Question**: I noticed that there are some anonymous reviews and I'd like to respond to them in the following chapter, but I am not sure how those reviewers would feel. The last time I responded to such reviews in previous chapters the reviewers stopped reviewing, and I am not sure if that is because they disliked it or not. Please give me your opinion.

**An Apology**: I was planning to reread this chapter again, but I'm just too busy right now, and I hope all of you will forgive any spelling and/or grammar mistakes. I still have not heard from my beta so this chapter has only been read through once (that makes me wince).

**Super Special Awesome "Preview"**: For some it would be stressful to introduce their boyfriend to their parents, for others it is down right homicidal.


	14. Dilemma

Chapter 14

Dilemma

"I think we lost them," Naruto gasped for breath as he shut the door to his house and locked it. Beside him, Naruto could hear Sasuke's uneven breathing. For the last half hour or so, they had been trying to out run a bunch men and women with cameras. The men and women, also known as the paparazzi had been trying to follow them home. "They're like sharks!" Naruto remarked, pressing his back against the door, his own breathing harsh and quick.

In an attempt to calm himself down, he let his eyelids slide shut and visualized a nice warm bowl of ramen. He never wanted to experience twenty or more adults chasing after him with cameras and yelling questions at him ever again. "Does this happen to you all the time?" Naruto opened his eyes when the question came to him. No wonder Sasuke was so strange if he had grown up with people chasing after him.

Shrugging, Sasuke gave a weak grunt. "Only when something considered scandalous occurs with someone in my family."

"How often is that?" Sasuke gave Naruto an irritated look as an answer, and weirdly enough, Naruto understood it. The look said something along the lines of, _Are you an idiot? Do you not know who my family is?_

"Right…" Naruto trailed off and let his gaze drift off to the side to hide his embarrassment. "You're such a stuck up perfectionist that your family is probably the same. You know what they say, 'the apple doesn't fall from the tree'."

As expected, Sasuke really needed a new set of expressions, the older boy narrowed his eyes at Naruto, giving him a dirty look. Seconds later any nastiness in the older boy's gaze changed. The frown on his face transformed into an annoying smirk. The change was so fast and sudden, Naruto's natural curiosity was piqued, causing him to hover around Sasuke like a helicopter as the older boy waltzed carelessly deeper into Naruto's house until they were in the kitchen.

Hmm, the last time Sasuke was in his kitchen…

"You better not be thinking about anything perverted, Teme," Naruto warned with a scowl. He did not want a repeat of last time.

"Just thinking about what you said and how it applies to a certain someone," Sasuke answered, walking into Naruto's living room and tossing his backpack on the couch.

"Hey! Are you insulting my parents by calling them stupid?" Naruto asked with his scowl still in place, following suit and tossing his backpack onto the couch as well. He couldn't believe Sasuke would take such a low blow by insulting his parents. He knew Sasuke was a jerk but he never knew how much until—

"Idiot," Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto as he unzipped his backpack and dug through the bag for his books and papers. Any amusement that had been Sasuke's face was erased and a cold mask of annoyance had taken residence. "I never said anything like that. Don't go around assuming things. It was an assumption like that that made you think I was gay."

"Yeah and look how that turned out," Naruto grumbled as he fished through his own sack for his school supplies. He acted upset but he could feel his lips curving upwards. It was hard to say whether he was happy because Sasuke hadn't insulted his parents or because of the memory of the day Naruto had thought Sasuke had been gay. He had been so freaked out to learn Sasuke might like other men that he had acted like a complete idiot, and it was a little humorous looking back on it.

However, while Naruto found his past behavior entertaining, he was also a little disappointed in himself when he compared it to recent events. He was no better than the kids who had spent the day trying to get under his skin. At least he hadn't been as terrible as Sakon. Naruto frowned at the thought. That really was a small consolation.

"By the way," Naruto began and took a seat on the couch, placed his history textbook on his lap, and opened it to a marked page. "Can you drive us to school tomorrow? I'd rather not try to out run a mob of paparazzi again."

"I had that planned," Sasuke answered, taking his own seat beside Naruto on the couch. Unlike Naruto though, he had a notebook out and looked like he was working on math problems. With speed that made Naruto envious, the Uchiha went to work on a problem and in less than a minute moved on to the next one. As Naruto watched Sasuke use a math formula to answer the question, he felt his brow crinkle with uncertainty and maybe… worry?

"You've been a little weird today," Naruto commented, not sure where he was going with his comment. Maybe he was just overreacting, or perhaps it was just his imagination? Maybe it was both? "I know you don't have people chasing after you everyday but…" Naruto trailed off. What did he want to say? Sasuke didn't seem out of character. Something just felt off. It was like the warning signs of a bad cold, and as much as he wanted to say something, he couldn't find any words that wouldn't embarrass him.

"You're imagining things," Sasuke stated, not even looking at Naruto as he did so. It irked Naruto and reminded him of what had happened when Sasuke and him had been sitting outside of Iruka's office. Why was no one willing to look at him when they spoke to him? It was driving him up the walls! Had someone taken a pen to his face and drawn something offensive on it?

"Will you just—"

"Well, if it isn't the two lovebirds!" Jiraiya's voice boomed through the room. He was standing at the entrance of the living room with a pleased grin on his face as he eyed the two teens on the couch. "I was hesitant about you before, Sasuke, but maybe I should be thanking you. It looks like you got Naruto to start doing his homework almost the second he walked in the house. To think I once thought I would be dead before it would happen."

"Knock it off, old man!" Naruto could feel heat rushing to his cheeks. He hadn't meant to start working on his homework; he had just been following Sasuke's lead. That didn't mean it was because of Sasuke. …Well, maybe it did, but that didn't mean it was intentional! It wasn't like Sasuke had planned to manipulate Naruto into starting his homework.

…Or had he?

Naruto looked at Sasuke to see if the boy was smirking or doing anything that might be a clue as to Uchiha's manipulative intentions. Sasuke was focused only on his math problems. Something tugged at at Naruto's chest as he was painfully reminded of what he had been talking about with Sasuke before Jiraiya interrupted them. Something was off; he just needed to find out what.

"You shouldn't disrespect your elders, kid. Especially when they are the ones paying for your food and the roof over your head," Jiraiya reprimanded, and if Sasuke wasn't acting so weird Naruto would have responded to his guardian's taunt, but instead he let his guardian's words dissipate in the air.

He knew he was making a show of staring at Sasuke, and while a part of him was embarrassed and was pleading with him to stop it, another part of him, the side that had grown rather fond of Sasuke over their short period of getting to know each other, didn't care. He was also aware that Jiraiya was probably staring at him with wide eyes and bewilderment when he didn't respond to himpromptly, choosing to stare at his "boyfriend" instead.

Maybe sensing someone staring at him, Sasuke finally paused in his writing and glared up at Naruto. "What?" he asked bitterly and accusingly, and Naruto felt the muscles in his back become less tense. He hadn't been aware just how stiff he had been until Sasuke was giving him that wonderfully familiar look of anger and annoyance.

Ah, that wonderful familiar look that could create icebergs. What would Naruto do without it?

"You're acting weirder than normal," Naruto accused, his voice leaking with a bit of happiness. He would have preferred it to be a little more stern. "Is this because the school is forcing us to change our schedules?"

Sasuke blinked his eyes rapidly twice. The irritated look he had been giving Naruto was gone. In its place was a raised eyebrow, which in the language of Sasuke meant that the Uchiha either thought Naruto was crazy, or he was confused. It was probably the first option. "What are you talking about, Dobe? My schedule wasn't changed."

"But—"

"I would have been informed by now if they had," Sasuke cut Naruto off, ending a conversation that had barely started, returning his attention back to his math problems. Thus Naruto was left with his mouth agape like a fish. He didn't know whether to be in shock or furious, and if he was supposed to be furious, who should he be furious at? He wanted to rip Sasuke's head off for being so…so…so…! Argh! Naruto couldn't even think of the right word to describe Sasuke, but he knew exactly why he was angry with his high school. How dare they force him to change his schedule while Sasuke kept his!

"The school changed your schedule?" Jiraiya asked from his position near the entrance of the living room.

"Yes," Naruto answered, holding back a growl he deeply wanted to release.

"Is this because you got in a fight today?"

It was like a bucket of cold water had been poured on his head—just less wet. Suddenly, his anger was put out like a flame. For how long Naruto did not know. For the moment though, any resentment he held towards his high school was pushed to the back of his mind as his curiosity move to the front. "How do you know about that?"

"Don't be silly," Jiraiya scoffed. "Any student involved in a fight gets a phone call home to their parents or guardians. You should know that, Naruto."

"Yeah, well, I have been a little distracted today," Naruto answered defensively.

"As I can see." Jiraiya stared pointedly at Sasuke before sighing in what sounded like defeat. "I had a feeling the media would get involved in your relationship. I was really hoping to talk to you about it before anything happened though."

"Wait! Is that why you were acting so weird when you almost caught Sasuke and I…" Naruto covered his mouth with his hand and tried to push back the memory of making out on the very couch he was sitting on now. If only the blood would stop rushing to his face, and was it his imagination or was a he sweating a little too? Oh ramen! Jiraiya probably could tell by just looking at him what had happened before he had entered the room that day. Heck, Jiraiya might think it was more than a make out session! He might think…

Oh precious ramen! Why couldn't he have kept his mouth shut?

By the sly smile and glint in his eyes, Naruto could tell Jiraiya had already caught on to what had probably occurred between the two teens. He was probably already thinking of a few jokes to say at another time. For the moment he kept to the topic at hand, pretending to let Naruto's love life go unnoticed. "As your guardian I was naturally worried that you were getting involved in something you were not ready to handle, but now it's too late to reverse the damage and I'll just have to be proactive."

Proactive? Was Jiraiya going to get a restraining order against all of the paparazzi that had followed Naruto and Sasuke? If so, Naruto was utterly and completely for it! There was just something wrong with the idea of twenty or more adults chasing two kids down the street. Admittedly, it would make a good To Catch a Predator episode.

Whatever Jiraiya's definition of "proactive" was, Naruto didn't get to hear it. Instead he gave the blond a thumbs-up sign before gesturing with his thumb to something behind him. Naruto was clueless as to what Jiraiya was trying to say, until… "Get out of here and go to your room."

"What?! You're grounding me?!"

Jiraiya had to be joking! He was too old to be grounded! What had he done to deserve a grounding anyway? Was it the fight? Surely, Jiraiya wouldn't be as cruel as to ground him without asking him why he had gotten in the fight in the first place? Wait! What if it wasn't the fight but…Sasuke!

A surge of power and defiance rushed through Naruto's veins like flames following a trail of kerosene. Sasuke may have been his fake boyfriend but it was the principle of the matter! Jiraiya couldn't ground him for dating someone, or even liking someone for that matter. It wasn't fair (was it just Naruto or was he repeating that phrase a lot?)! If Jiraiya tried to separate him from Sasuke then he would sneak out and visit the Uchiha. The two of them could be like Romeo and Juliet… but without the dying, the sex, and the falling in love parts!

However, all worry, rage, and defiance was washed away from him like rock on the edge of the beach when Jiraiya shook his head and gave Naruto a reassuring smile. "You're not grounded. I just want to talk to Sasuke alone."

"Really?" Naruto had to make sure, and was satisfied when Jiraiya nodded his head in affirmation. "Okay, fine," Naruto grumbled and gathered his school supplies back into his bag. He stood up and walked towards Jiraiya to exit the room. As he walked by his guardian he quickly paused to add, "Sasuke doesn't talk much so expect it to be a one-sided conversation."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Jiraiya smiled.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Mindlessly, Sasuke wrote down a simplified form of the original question on his math homework. He paused to stare at the simplified form and in two seconds he wrote beneath it the answer to the equation. That was the fourth question he had answered and he had about fifteen more. It was at times like these when he wanted to take one of his textbooks and hit his teachers over the head with it. After demonstrating his knowledge once why did he have to repeatedly show it by answering more questions? It was inefficient.

"Hard to believe Naruto is dating a nerd."

Like a car coming to a screeching halt, Sasuke's body froze and tensed. He felt the muscles in his finger tips cry out in pain as his grip on his pencil tightened. A second later and Sasuke would have broken the lead of his pencil on his notebook upon hearing the comment. Instead the sharp point of lead was left to hover less than a centimeter over the sheet of lined paper.

The shadow of Naruto's guardian marked the sheet of paper in Sasuke's lap, and with as much patience as he could muster he turned his head slowly against his body's protest. He almost needed oil to loosen the muscles in his neck so he could give the old man the venomous and threatening look that the old man deserved as a warning. "Excuse me?" Sasuke spoke coldly, reminding himself of the few times when Itachi had ever gotten upset with him; no one could be more terrifying than his older brother when furious.

Jiraiya did not seem to understand the "subtle" message. He was still smiling like a damn fool; kind of like how Naruto used to. Admittedly, there were some differences between the old man's smile and Naruto's. The point was, the man did not care about the violent aura radiating off of Sasuke, or that he was invading the boy's personal space. "You heard me," the man spoke cheerfully. "I never thought Naruto would like someone smart, and lacking in social skills. Smart, yes. Lack of social skills, no."

"Do you have no concept of tact?" Sasuke gritted out, followed by a snapping sound. Eyes going wide in surprise, Sasuke looked down at the hand holding his pencil and was startled to find that lead tip had snapped off from being pressed too hard against his notebook. He didn't even remember pressing it against the notebook! He'd just have to brush it off for the moment.

"Also, I have to run a business, which requires social interaction so do not assume that I have no social skills," Sasuke sneered.

Jiraiya shrugged, "You could have fooled me, kid." The next thing Sasuke knew the old man went from towering in front of him to taking residence on the side of the couch where Naruto had been sitting. He was the picture of relaxation as he let his arms stretch out against the back of the sofa and spread his legs out in front of him. "I'm not here to judge though," he said, "I'm here as Naruto's guardian, and I'm going to do what any decent guardian would do: protect him."

"Are you going to force me to break up with him?" Sasuke asked, letting his voice sound suspicious while concealing another emotion that played beneath his exterior. It was a hard sensation to describe; it was like a rash underneath his skin. The emotion irritated him, and like the rash it felt like, he feared that it was only a symptom of some unfathomable disease that he was infected with. This "beneath the skin" rash itched and became easily irritated by the thought of Jiraiya trying to interfere with his deal with Naruto, and also the phrases replaying in his head from earlier.

"_You know like me."_

"_So how are things going between you and Naruto?"_

"_Just admit it Sasuke.; you like me."_

"_I see he is having a good effect on you. Before him, you couldn't even manage to play a romantic character."_

"_I'm your boyfriend, you have to like me."_

"_He is your boyfriend, correct?"_

It was unbelievably frustrating! It was bad enough that Naruto had managed to get under his skin, affecting him to the point of insanity, but now his drama teacher and this old man with their comments and questions? It was more than Sasuke wanted or could tolerate. He should just end the deal with Naruto and take the ninety percent in Drama; he could be satisfied knowing he had outdone Itachi. Ending it all was the most logical thing to do.

However, he couldn't do it. He didn't want to end his deal with Naruto. He wanted to be the best and Naruto seemed to be the key to his success. Also, it was only Jiraiya's disapproval that allowed the old man to get under his skin. Ending his deal with Naruto would be like letting the older man win; Sasuke couldn't have that.

"It's too late to try and make you two split up," Jiraiya answered nonchalantly, derailing Sasuke in his thoughts and surprising the young boy, though he did his best to hide it.

The old man sighed as if the world had been resting upon his shoulders and he had finally let it fall. "The damage has been done, the media will be sniffing around you two like starving dogs searching for a feast. Splitting you two up would only make matters worse. All I can do now is be here to help Naruto, and ask you for a favor." The atmosphere changed with those uttered words. Shortly succeeding those words Jiraiya went silent and stared at Sasuke, and the Uchiha had to control the urge to sit on the edge of his seat like an expectant child. The old man's eyes searched Sasuke up and down until his gaze finally settled on something behind Sasuke, or so it appeared.

The old man's eyes were distant and Sasuke was sorely tempted to wave his hand in front of the man's face. What favor? Why would Jiraiya ask him for a favor? Did it have to do with money? What? Did he want Sasuke to buy something that Naruto could use to protect himself from the media? Sasuke doubted he could buy a fully functioning brain for the idiot.

"Take care of him and treat him nice," Jiraiya finally murmured, his gaze no longer glazed over in a distant stare.

"Naruto?" Sasuke grunted. "He can take care of himself. He doesn't need my help."

A burst of laughter escaped from Jiraiya. "You're right, he can take care of himself." Then, and Sasuke wasn't sure how he recognized it, an emotion took over Jiraiya's face that could only be describe as the love and pride only a parent could have for their child. "He's strong and can take care of himself, but even adults who can take care of themselves need someone to look out for them. If he had to, I am sure Naruto could handle this mess by himself, but he would come out more battered and bruised than necessary, which is why I would appreciate you being there for him, even if he fights you along the way."

What was Sasuke supposed to say to that? He wanted to rebuke him and tell Jiraiya that if Naruto could handle everything on his own then he should, but his brain couldn't send the message to his lips. Another message reached his lips just fine, though

"He's such an idiot."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Colors bled and swirled together. Naruto's temples were pounding with a threatening headache as a gust of air played with Naruto's hair. His hands slammed themselves onto the top of his desk right before he used his arms to propel himself counter-clockwise. He had spent the last five, maybe ten, minutes spinning around in his computer chair. He knew in theory that he was making himself sick but he also knew that he used to spin in his chair all the time and never got sick. At best, he would get light headed, and as a child he had found the experience fun.

Though the headache he was getting was not as fun as he remembered it. He had enough of the pain in his temples and chose that moment to let his feet scrape against his carpeted floor, creating traction and slowing him down. It wasn't until the chair had spun three more times that Naruto could finally make out some the objects in his room. He grabbed the edge of his desk, completely stopping his movements. He was unmoving, but it felt like his body was swaying while his head weighed nothing at all, though he kept wanting to let it drop to the side as if it were a heavy weight.

"Whoa…" Naruto drawled, still trying to get his bearings. Was this what being high on drugs was like?

The world was tilting back and forth but he could finally see every object in his room without them blurring together. About ten more seconds and everything should go back to normal. Ten seconds was a little too long for Naruto, so he squeezed his eyes shut and quickly opened them. Like magic, everything was stationary again.

Now what?

Naruto frowned. He had started spinning around in his chair because he couldn't think of anything to do. He knew he could do homework, but Jiraiya's comment from earlier still had him sore. Though, since Sasuke wasn't present then maybe it wouldn't count as Sasuke's influence if he did his homework. However, if he did his homework because he thought it wasn't because of Sasuke's influence wouldn't it then be because of Sasuke's influence? Thinking about that made Naruto's head hurt worse.

Forget it, I'll just check my E-mail, Naruto told himself, and within seconds had his computer on and was typing rapidly on his keyboard. In less than a minute he had his E-mail account open and was quickly scanning through all of the junk mail in his mailbox. He must have deleted at least ten E-mails before one caught his eye; it was an E-mail from Ibiki, his journalism instructor.

_Why did he…?_ Naruto began asking himself as he moved the mouse of his computer, clicking on the message from his instructor. He didn't have to complete his silent question before his memories flashed before him like a montage in a movie. Ibiki was probably commenting on the article Naruto had recently turned in, though he had never done it through E-mail before. Perhaps…?

Naruto couldn't stop himself from smiling. He felt like he was beaming enough that his white teeth were glowing and sparkling. He was just so happy that maybe Ibiki was E-mailing him because his article had been amazing, and Ibiki couldn't wait to publish it in the school newspaper. He had worked so hard on that article that it couldn't be anything else. Ibiki had to have loved it.

When he looked at the message Ibiki sent him, he was greatly disappointed.

"I would like to see you tomorrow morning before school." The E-mail read.

So maybe it wasn't a bad E-mail, but it still wasn't what Naruto had been hoping for and for a brief second he felt his heart sink.

Just as quickly as his heart had sunk, it was floating again like a hot-air balloon. Perhaps Ibiki hadn't praised him in his message to Naruto, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't praise Naruto the next day.

Maneuvering his seat so he was facing the door to his bedroom, which he had left open, he shouted, "Hey Sasuke! I need to be at school early tomorrow! Do you think you can get up a little earlier?"

There was no response. Naruto felt his forehead wrinkle as he frowned and took a deep breath of air, preparing to bellow at his fake boyfriend from the second-story of the house. Just as Naruto felt that his lungs would burst from too much pressure, the sudden padding sound of footsteps reached his ears and he released his breath with a sigh. Soon, none other than a sour-faced Sasuke stood in front of Naruto with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What were you yelling about?" Sasuke asked, his annoyance as easy to detect as a large rock in a field of grass.

At least Sasuke was finally acting normal for the moment, and Naruto did his best not to sigh in relief at the familiar gesture and attitude.

"I need to be at school early tomorrow," Naruto explained. "Can you wake up earlier and give me a ride, or do I have to suffer through the paparazzi and walk to school alone?"

Sasuke didn't answer. Admittedly, Naruto didn't expect an answer right away, but he didn't get the rage-filled glare, the raised eyebrow of doom, or even the infamous smirk. Sasuke's face was completely blank, and before Naruto was ware of what he was doing, his gaze began to wander over Sasuke's body, looking for any physical sign of what the other boy was thinking. His scan of Sasuke was brief and he found nothing out of place as he waited for a response. There was still a voice inside Naruto kept telling him that Sasuke was being weirder than usual again.

"Sasuke?" Naruto prompted, leaning forward in his seat to get a better look but still finding nothing wrong with Sasuke.

"I should make you walk," Sasuke abruptly scoffed, turned on his heel and left.

"Is that a 'Yes'"? Naruto shouted at Sasuke's back, and giving chase when his "boyfriend" once again became unresponsive.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Sasuke never answered Naruto's question, which, while not surprising to Naruto, still got under the blonde's skin. He had spent the whole night trying to get Sasuke to answer his question, even embarrassing himself in front of Jiraiya to do so. Couldn't Sasuke for one moment make things a little easier for him, and answer a simple question? Of course not, because then he wouldn't be Sasuke if he did! He wouldn't be the stupid, arrogant jerk who was wiggling his way into Naruto's life, which at the moment Naruto wished he was… or wasn't… ack! It was too early in the morning to be thinking about sentence structure; the sun wasn't even up!

"Where is it?" Naruto grumbled as he threw his clothes around his room. He couldn't find the clean pair of underwear he had set aside for himself the previous night, and he was still upset. In a way, he was taking care of two problems at once; he was searching for his underwear, and every time he threw a piece of clothing across his room, he would pretend he was throwing a rock at Sasuke's stupid, stubborn head.

"Forget it!" Naruto hissed, and threw his hands up in the air. "I like not wearing underwear anyway," he grumbled and adjusted the jeans on his hips (he had put them on earlier in case Jiraiya walked into his room, taking him by surprise).

Grabbing his backpack, Naruto tried to ignore the mental image of Sasuke smirking victoriously at him as he headed for the front door. As much as Naruto knew Sasuke had nothing to do with his suddenly missing pair of underwear, he felt as if by giving up his search he had somehow lost to Sasuke. Maybe it was because he had been thinking about that annoying jerk as he had desperately searched for it? Naruto didn't have to understand why, he just knew he wasn't happy with the feeling.

_What if Sasuke has taken my underwear? _Naruto's brain suddenly screeched like a thirteen year-old girl who had just spotted a gross, hairy spider in her bedroom. He knew in his heart and his mind that Sasuke would never really steal his underwear, it was not Sasuke's character. That didn't stop the heart-pounding embarrassment that made his cheeks heat up. He tried to shake the disturbing thought out of his head, but it stayed there like it was glued tight, and he hated it. The longer the thought stayed in his head, the more his cheeks heated up.

_Just go to school. Just go to school._ Naruto chanted to himself, trying desperately to think of something else, but failing as an image of Sasuke sneaking in his room through an opened window and taking his underwear popped to the forefront of his mind.

"Stupid—" Naruto began as he placed his hand on the doorknob of the front door and opened it to reveal none other than Sasuke's car. Seeing the vehicle in his driveway, Naruto cut himself off and did a double blink. If Sasuke's car was in his driveway then…

Sitting in the front of his car was Sasuke. By all logic he should have been shivering from the morning cold, but the older teen was perfectly composed in the driver's seat. Cupped gently (and Naruto used that word hesitantly) in his hands was what looked like a thermos cup with steam billowing from it. Naruto guessed that it was coffee, which caused his nose to crinkle. He never had been much of a coffee person to the relief of many (something having to with him already being hyper).

Eerily, Sasuke's perfect composer while sitting in a car in the freezing cold wasn't the only illogical thing that morning. Upon seeing Sasuke sitting in his car, Naruto was too stunned to think (okay, maybe not so illogical), but in matter of seconds a tidal wave of emotions washed over him, awakening him from his stunned state. His emotions left him feeling more shocked and confused than before.

He was angry at Sasuke which, while not uncommon, was inappropriate. Even he was aware that the emotion wasn't warranted. He should be feeling relieved and thankful. He was, to a degree but a piece of his brain was thrumming with unspoken rage towards Sasuke, and that rage was vibrating down through his nerves and making his body tense. He had one hand clenched in a fist and he wasn't quite sure why.

Maybe he was wrong? Maybe he was supposed to be upset with Sasuke? He had been angry at the other boy just moments ago when he had been searching for his underwear. Also, Sasuke had been such a jerk for not answering his question the previous night, and his lack of an answer had forced Naruto to wake up far earlier than he had wanted.

There were so many good reasons for Naruto to be upset with Sasuke, even the immature reason that Sasuke had caused Naruto to feel thankful when the other boy didn't deserve it after his actions from the other night. Naruto could think of twenty reasons in ten seconds, and would never be able to count all the reason on his toes and fingers even if he had two extra hands. He had so many reasons and yet none of them suited the tense, nerve-wracking anger that he felt.

_I better go yell at the jerk before he thinks I'm staring at him_, Naruto grouched in his mind, but smiled at the thought of releasing some his anger on the Uchiha. He may not have known why he was angry but he knew if he just let himself yell at the Uchiha eventually the truth would come out and he'd know.

Walking up to the expensive car, Naruto subtly watched Sasuke, looking for any sign that Sasuke was aware of his presence. There was a quick glance from Sasuke out of the corner of his eye before he went back to looking intently at the hands wrapped tightly around his cup. The action had been so fast Naruto was sure he imagined it, but when he opened the car door and climbed into the vehicle without any word from his fake boyfriend, he knew it hadn't been his imagination.

"Why didn't you come inside?" Naruto asked, his voice becoming accusing as he reached to his side for his seatbelt. His nose twitched when he smelled the air and was assaulted by the pungent scent of coffee. "And why didn't you tell me you were going to drive me to school? I could have slept in longer! You could have too!"

"You are really annoying in the morning," Sasuke responded as Naruto clicked his seatbelt into place and Sasuke put his coffee in a cup holder.

"And you are a stupid dick," Naruto insulted back, annoyed that instead of getting a reaction out of Sasuke, the Uchiha ignored him, started the car, and began backing the car out of the driveway. He wouldn't be ignored though. "You should have come into my house, it's cold outside, and you call me stupid."

"I don't have a key," Sasuke spoke in clipped words, his eyes watching the road. A brief glance in the rearview mirror caused Sasuke's brow to furrow, and Naruto, being the curious soul that he was, turned his head so he could look through the car's back window. Like Sasuke, his brow furrowed when he saw a couple news stations' vans following them.

Knowing that he couldn't do anything about the media at the moment, Naruto let his worry slide to back of his mind and focused on the anger and frustration he held towards Sasuke. "You could have rung the doorbell. It's not like I was asleep."

"Hn."

"And I still don't understand why you didn't tell me you were going to take me to school," Naruto went on, silently cheering on the inside. It seemed that for once he was winning an argument with Sasuke. "If you had told me, we could have arranged a time when you could have picked me up, and we both wouldn't have to wake up early."

Sasuke didn't even make a sound at the statement.

Total victory, or so Naruto thought, but as the minutes ticked by and the school became visible from the car's front window Naruto felt as if he had been tricked. Something in his gut was unsettled by the easy victory Sasuke had given him.

Given him…

Had Sasuke let him win? Admittedly, it wasn't as if their arguments were real contests between them, but that didn't mean they weren't treated as such. Sasuke was too prideful to throw a fight, unless, perhaps, and Naruto wasn't hundred percent if this was true, but maybe Sasuke would lose a fight if it meant protecting his pride? The only problem with that theory was that, as far as Naruto knew, Sasuke's pride was perfectly safe. What could possibly be endangering his pride?

As Naruto mulled the question over in his head, Sasuke drove into the school's parking lot and put the car in park. It was as Sasuke was taking off his seatbelt that words Naruto hadn't been aware of slipped through his lips. "Were you trying not to wake me up?"

Sasuke visibly froze and tensed at the question. His eyes had also widened slightly, but not enough that anyone besides Naruto would notice. It was only a second, but in that second Naruto saw Sasuke with all of his shields down, and he was sure that in those wide eyes he saw something akin to insecurity in those dark pools.

"Why would I care if I woke you up?" Sasuke asked, a mask of arrogance taking over and concealing any insecurity Naruto had seen. However, like the previous time, Naruto saw something in Sasuke's eyes that gave him away. Sasuke could pose and act as smug and relaxed as he liked, but Naruto could see the truth, and it made him see red.

"Don't lie to me," Naruto demanded, snapping off his seatbelt so he could lean across the space between them. He stared into Sasuke's eyes, knowing that it was the only way he could be sure of what Sasuke was really thinking. "Why lie to me?"

"Hn." Sasuke grunted and forcibly removed his gaze from Naruto's, cutting off the blonde's one way of reading the Uchiha.

"Are you really going to answer me with a grunt?"

"…"

"Argh! You drive me crazy! I swear Sasuke, if I didn't have to meet with Ibiki I would sit in this car and yell at you until I am blue in the face or until you finally tell the truth." As Naruto said this he maneuvered himself so he was facing his door and had his hand place on the handle, just waiting to push it and free himself. "After school, we are going to talk," he warned with a bit of a growl in his throat.

"Naruto."

"What?" Naruto snapped.

His head was pulled forward by two pale hands and two lips pressed roughly against his. He automatically closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, and then hurriedly tried to move his head back to its upright position, but the two hands stopped him. His mind was screaming at him to open his eyes and resist, but he was so tired and stressed that he kept them closed so he could continue to feel the firm sensation on his lips without visible distraction. The nerves that had been bothering him earlier now hummed with bliss and anticipation.

The kiss wasn't sloppy or wet, but neither was it sweet and gentle. There was strength and demand behind the kiss, but Naruto couldn't interpret what the demand was. It didn't matter though. He let himself enjoy the rough edge of the kiss. If only voice in the back his head wasn't trying to remind him that he wasn't supposed to enjoy it. The sweet intoxicating edge was like a wonderful massage to his sore and tense muscles and he welcomed the blissful sensation.

All bliss was lost though when bright flashes of light danced across Naruto's eyes. He shouldn't have been able to see the flashes, but he did and he opened his eyes, tearing his lips away from Sasuke's but keeping his head in the other boy's grasp. Looking out the car's front window Naruto scowled when he saw three photographers taking pictures of them.

"You planned this," Naruto accused, glaring heatedly at Sasuke.

"Possibly."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

"Your article is good."

Naruto could almost purr like a cat at Ibiki-sensei's words. He had been shaking in his tennis shoes with anticipation and excitement to hear what Ibiki-sensei thought about his article. The praise he had just received, even though it was a little bland, was just what Naruto needed after his fight with Sasuke. It had his nerves quivering with happiness instead of the need to strike out against something or someone

"Does this mean I will pass the class?" Naruto asked, pushing Sasuke to the deep dark depths of his mind and letting his body feel the wonderful sense of accomplishment wash over him.

That wondrous feeling came crashing down like a plane in flames when Ibiki-sensei frowned and looked away. He didn't have to say anything for Naruto to know what that reaction meant: nothing good.

"But why?" He couldn't help but ask. He had tried so hard. Every word he had written had been thought out and precise. He left out no details about the event at the mall. He even let some of his own feelings mix into the article to give it some flavor. He knew it read passionately while informing others, so what could possibly be wrong with it?

"It is not a news article." Ibiki sensei answered bluntly; a little too bluntly for Naruto.

"What?" Naruto's thoughts that had been going fifty miles a minute skidded to a sudden screeching halt. What did Ibiki mean by that? How? What? Why? He had written a news article! He knew he had written one! He hadn't written an editorial so he had to have written a news article!

"Naruto," Ibiki sensei began, making sure to keep his voice calm and steady as he explained things to the distressed teen, or so Naruto assumed. He was almost positive that he had to look slightly distressed by the way Ibki tried to use his voice to soothe him; it wasn't working. "This could have been a news article." Naruto felt his forehead scrunch up while his jaw dropped a bit in disbelief. Ibiki was not making any sense. However, the older man continued with his sentence as if everything coming out his mouth should make sense. "The problem is you were too close to the subject. Because of this, you didn't write a news article but a feature."

A feature? What was that? The only times Naruto had heard the word "feature" being used were when talking about body parts, or when someone said "And now time for our 'feature' presentation." Didn't that mean that a "feature" was the headlining story?

Ibiki sensei folded his arms across his chest and stared down at Naruto in a scrutinizing way. Naruto gulped as he tried to meet the grown man's stare, but he found that he couldn't. Ibiki sensei was one of the few teachers that could make Naruto feel like he was literally being pierced by their gaze, and that was exactly what Ibiki-sensei was doing at the moment.

"You don't know what a feature is," Ibiki-sensei accused, his gaze hardening and Naruto flinched at the intensity. When Naruto nodded his head in confirmation, Ibiki let out a sigh of exasperation. "A feature, in journalistic terms, is a human interest piece. It is usually, if not always, a story about a person. There are no hard-hitting facts or discoveries. It is just a story about a person. It's basically fluff."

Fluff? Naruto whined despondently in his head. His story was considered fluff? How could that be? If he were truthful with himself he would have to admit that he had focused a bit more on the people in the story and less on the facts, but isn't that what people care about? Other people? If writing about people was considered a feature piece, then what was his article about his experience as being thought of as a gay man supposed to be? To Naruto it seemed like it would be considered a feature too.

Sinking realization smacked Naruto across the face and for once he had no idea what to do. How was he going to pass Journalism if the story he had been planning to write on wasn't going to get him the grade he needed?

"Listen," Ibiki-sensei began, looking a little angry, "don't act like a sad, spoiled, little brat because your article can't possibly go on the front page. I don't want to see your sad eyes, so I will make you a deal, kid."

Naruto double blinked. Sad eyes? Had he been making sad eyes at Ibiki-sensei? He hadn't even realized. He had just been so lost he hadn't noticed what he was doing. He barely heard Ibiki sensei when he began talking again. Was he really that upset over the article?

_Hell yeah I am! I need the credit for this class! Now my plan is going down the toilet because I didn't know the difference between a news article and a feature! Heck! I didn't even know about feature articles!_

"Here's the deal kid," Ibiki sensei said. "I will not fail you, but I will not pass you either."

Huh? Was Ibiki sensei on some kind of drug? Students could only fail or pass a class, there was no in between.

"I will give you a high enough grade that you get credit for my class: that means I am giving you a 60 percent," Ibiki explained obviously thinking that Naruto wouldn't understand otherwise. "Now, I am not sure if you have been listening to your guidance counselor, but if you have, then you know that most colleges will look at the score as a failure. If you want to please colleges then I suggest you work on raising your score by ten percent."

"But I will get class credit, right?" Naruto asked, anxiously. He couldn't believe his ears. If what Ibiki sensei was saying was true then he wouldn't have to worry about writing the article Sasuke had been helping him with.

Where would that leave him and Sasuke? They hadn't known each other for very long, and as aggravating as Sasuke could be at times, there were pieces of Sasuke's personality that were beginning to reveal themselves to Naruto, whether Sasuke wished it or not. Seeing the cracks in Sasuke's almost perfect façade had piqued Naruto's curiosity, and so as frustrating as it would be, Naruto wanted to remain in contact with Sasuke. He didn't want to date Sasuke. As much as he would like to have continued to get to know Sasuke (as insane as that must sound) he also wanted to stop lying to everyone. He wanted everyone to stop treating him differently and go on with his happy life again.

But would it be right? Should he continue lying to everyone? And would Sasuke want to be his friend without their deal?

* * *

**What has life done now? :** For those of you that read my profile, you probably already know that I am writing a novel. For those of you who didn't know that... well, now you do. The novel is something I am doing for a class, so it does take priority. I didn't expect it to take up so much time, but my classmates keep giving my lots of inspiration and great advice on scenes and such that the story has consumed my life. I'll try to work out a balance soon.

**Fun Fact:** So Naruto and Sasuke fight a lot. Did you know that if someone is stimulated sexually and then put in a bad situation they are more likely to become violent? I believe the same is true in the reverse, but I'm too lazy to grab my psychology text book and double-check.

**Is this chapter weird? : **So I was rereading the chapter and noticed some things were no longer in italics and other little things like that. If you spot anything out of place please let me know.

**Super Special Awesome "Preview":** There are many ways to go, but only one outcome. Which will be chosen? The mad hatter or the mad hare? ...I think the smoke from the room above mine is getting to me. Oh well.


	15. Wasted Time

Chapter 15

Wasted Time

"So why didn't you change Sasuke's schedule?" Naruto asked Iruka, as the older man kneeled on the linoleum floor of the cafeteria and took pictures of the school choir as they set up for…something.

His eyes didn't stay focused too long on Iruka. Right at that moment, the cafeteria doors were held open by two choir members as a female student carted in a folded up raiser. Lounging on top of it, as if he were king of the world, was a boy.

"Thank you, my loyal subjects," the boy said dramatically, and waved to a few of the kids who had decided to stare. However, a second later he rolled off the raiser and walked beside the girl as she continued to push the raiser further into the room.

"Got it," Iruka muttered victoriously to himself, looking down at his digital camera. On the screen was the image of the boy sitting on top of the raiser and the girl pushing him without any sign of strain. Naruto found his lips tugging upwards into a smile. He would have been just as happy as Iruka if he had been the one trying to take the shot, just managing to capture it before the boy had moved.

As happy as he was for Iruka he needed the older man's attention. "Iruka—"

The counselor cut him off, while aiming his camera at a new set of targets. "I heard you Naruto; I am just trying to think of the best way to explain it to you."

"Why can't you just tell me?" Naruto wanted to demand, but he kept his tone in check as he spoke. He knew he was a little on edge after talking to Ibiki, and that he shouldn't take his frustrations out on innocent people who had no idea what was going on, but it was difficult. He felt trapped. It was like he was stuck in a hole, and though he knew he was safe for the moment, if he didn't get out soon it was going to rain and he was going to drown.

"Naruto," Iruka began, frowning as he took another picture.

Naruto wished he knew what was going on in Iruka's mind. Even if he knew that whatever Iruka was keeping from him wasn't going to be pleasant, he still wanted to know. He wanted—needed—the truth.

Iruka sighed like a man accepting that he was about to be hung. His shoulders rose and shifted down as he took a breath and exhaled. He didn't look any more lax, but his eyes were filled with determination, and the words that came out of his mouth were firm. "Sasuke's schedule is changing, but as it would have anyway. He is a drama student, so he would have been required to help with graduation like any other drama student. However, because there haven't been any reports about altercations between him and his peers, the school board has decided not to force him to visit me. Like you, he misses all of his morning classes, but unlike you he has three afternoon classes. He also does not have take-home finals, though, if he asks, his teachers are required to accommodate him."

"So no one has treated him any differently?" Naruto asked, skeptical and a bit jealous. It was like getting hit on the chest while playing dodge ball; not as bad as getting punched in the gut, but the act still left a sting. He knew he should be happy that people were leaving Sasuke alone, but it did not change the bitter sensation swelling in his heart at the unfair actions of his peers.

"The school doesn't know," Iruka pointedly stated, giving Naruto a curious look, as if asking Naruto if he had any information. "If Sasuke has had any problems with his fellow students then none of the faculty or staff knows, and it hasn't been reported by a student."

"So why not have him talk to you everyday, like me? You know, precaution and whatnot?" Naruto shrugged nonchalantly, but secretly the wheels in his head were turning. While he was jealous of the idea of Sasuke not being treated any differently, he didn't like the idea of anyone picking on the older boy either. It was like a bad picture one paints; it's fine when the painter insults their own work, but when another person does so then it is an act of war.

Naruto knew what it was like to be treated differently, and maybe Sasuke wouldn't care. He certainly didn't seem the type to care, but Naruto couldn't bear the idea of letting someone insult Sasuke and not doing something about it. Sure, Sasuke was rude, inconsiderate, and, and, and…

Naruto internally huffed while he crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at the ceiling. Okay, Sasuke wasn't that bad. Sasuke had driven him to school, had walked him to school since they started their act, helped a girl escape her pursuer, made sure Naruto was okay after getting in a fight (though he claimed to be forced), and a few other things. He wasn't a complete jerk; he just lacked social skills. Overall, Sasuke was a decent person, so he didn't deserve to be treated like a pariah.

The blonde's thoughts went quiet when Iruka shifted his weight and stood up straight.

He faced Naruto, a serious and disappointed look on his face. "Sadly, the school would rather hold off on forcing Sasuke to change his schedule due to his family's donations to the school."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "You 're kidding, right?"

Iruka shook his head.

_And you think you aren't a spoiled brat?_ Naruto bitterly snapped at Sasuke in his mind. It was moments like these that made him wish he were a telepath. Maybe it was better that he wasn't because he was sure in a few hours he wouldn't be as mad. It made sense that Sasuke's family donated to the school, and because of that the school handled Sasuke differently than… non-donators. However, at that very moment, Naruto wanted nothing more than to strangle the Uchiha for having the annoying luck of being born into a rich family, and thus getting things handed to him on a silver platter.

"I know this must be very upsetting to hear," Iruka said softly, and placed a gentle hand on Naruto's shoulder. The hand gave Naruto little comfort, but his internal rant had a few less curse words in it.

"I'm okay," Naruto said through gritted teeth. "He's my boyfriend," Naruto tried not to spit the word out, but a bit of venom lined his voice as he forced the between his lips. "I'm happy that he doesn't have to suffer through any inconveniences. I just wish I could be so lucky."

"Naruto," Iruka said matter-of-factly. "You are a terrible actor. I suggest instead of trying to conceal your frustration, you show it. I am your counselor, so I am here to listen and not judge."

"Really?" Naruto quirked an eyebrow, something he immediately recognized as an Uchiha trademark, and scowled.

Iruka nodded his head and smiled, giving Naruto's shoulder a squeeze.

"I want to strangle him."

"A little harsh, but somewhat understandable from where you are coming from."

"I want to crush his windpipe and tear it out of his throat."

"Okay," Iruka sounded a little taken aback.

"I want to tackle him to the ground and punch him repeatedly in the face."

"O…kay," Iruka's tone changed from shocked to unsure.

"I then want to drag him over to the lockers, open one, shove his head in it, and repeatedly slam the locker door on his head until he goes into a coma."

"I think that's enough, Naruto," Iruka interjected, having removed his hand from Naruto's shoulder and looking particularly worriedly at the teen.

However, Naruto was on a roll and he wasn't going to stop. "I want to yell at him until his ears bleed. I am just so pissed off. I know this was my idea, but why do I get all of the crap while he comes out smelling like roses? He probably doesn't even feel guilty, while I spend everyday feeling guilty because I have to hide it from everyone I care about. It's so easy for him! It was my idea, but…"

And like that all of the words Naruto had kept bottled up in him ceased flowing from his mouth. He hadn't realized that he even held such a strong sense of jealousy—yes, he knew he was jealous at times, but never so strongly—and animosity towards Sasuke until that moment. Sure, he fought with Sasuke a lot, but it was never anything personal, or so he had thought. All of his fights had seemed more like fights for… dominance, for lack of a better word. Did he really dislike Sasuke so much that he would truly do all of the awful things he said he wanted to do?

It didn't seem possible, because beneath all of the anger held towards Sasuke he knew he also felt some sort of bond. It wasn't the strongest bond; it certainly wasn't friendship, but it was a bond nonetheless. It was the same bond that had him wanting to learn more about the Uchiha. It was the same bond that he felt when he had been at Sasuke's house and the older boy had been kind enough to answer his questions.

However, the burning inferno that had consumed him seconds ago had left him shaky and he wasn't so sure about that bond anymore. He knew he was edgy and so his emotions were heightened, but he didn't think he was that edgy.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" Iruka asked.

No words came to him, and his stomach felt like the hollow trunk of a tree.

He didn't have an answer.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Naruto's stomach remained hollow for the rest of the day. He felt eerily calm as people approached him, even when it was to make a snide remark. He felt as if he had landed in the eye of the storm of emotions within himself, and he probably had, or he was still in shock. He wasn't sure which the better scenario was. He knew at any moment he could snap out of his shocked state or be pushed into the storm of emotions.

He still couldn't believe that he had reacted so strongly in the cafeteria. His only saving grace was that Iruka promised to keep the moment a secret between them. The last thing he needed was to have his friends and family panic because his emotions got a little overwhelming at school.

_A little?_ He heard himself think sarcastically. _It was like you were about to have an emotional break down._

Heat rushed to Naruto's face, and he glanced to his side where Sasuke was sitting. The two of them were driving home in silence, though, every now and then Sasuke would make an annoyed sound if he caught sight of the paparazzi in his rearview mirror. For once in his life, Naruto appreciated the silence; it gave him time to think, something he had been doing a lot recently.

Releasing a breath he hadn't known he was holding, Naruto slumped in his seat and felt the heat in his face dissipate. He had been worried that Sasuke would notice his embarrassment and interrogate him about it.

Naruto rolled his eyes heavenward, and felt a bitter laugh rumbled in his chest, begging to be released. What had he been thinking? Sasuke didn't care enough to figure out why he was embarrassed. He might tease Naruto if he noticed, but to actually ask about it? Bleak and doubtful.

A part of Naruto argued with him though. It shoved an unwelcomed memory at him with such force that Naruto had to wince. It was a stupid memory, but he would be lying if he didn't take some humor from it. The memory was of him and Sasuke at lunch the day after Naruto had fought with Kiba. In that moment Sasuke had cared enough to ask Naruto what was bothering him… and then proceeded to kiss him.

Which made Naruto want to stick his tongue out and make gagging sounds.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best memory he had of Sasuke, and maybe it revealed more of Sasuke's negative side than positive, but he had taken an interest in Naruto's life once. Who was to say if he would or wouldn't do it another time?

Ack! What was Naruto trying to do to himself? For days he had thought Sasuke was nothing more than a jerk that needed a good fist to the face. Why today was he trying to find all of the good qualities in Sasuke? It didn't make sense! He should be excited and breaking off his deal with Sasuke! Why was he acting so irrational and worrying about whether he stayed friends with Sasuke or not? What was he thinking? Had Sakon hit him in the head too hard? Had he drunk anything suspicious? Sasuke was… Sasuke was…

Naruto frowned and stared at the other boy, letting the back of his head rest against the passenger's side window. He kept staring, not caring that at any moment Sasuke could catch him in the act. His mind supplied him with many words and phrases to describe Sasuke, but he couldn't agree with any of the descriptions.

Another memory came to mind, this memory far more recent. Sasuke had tried to warn him about the media the other day, but Naruto hadn't noticed. He could remember that happy, almost giddy feeling that had consumed him when he realized in the school's office that Sasuke had been trying to be nice to him.

Sasuke was complicated.

He could be very direct about certain things and then indirect about the rest. He had the ability to be nice and kind, but he was only nice when he was mean. He acted like he didn't care but if things didn't go his way then he would become enraged and take it out on people. In a way, Sasuke was a paradox: a challenge and Naruto never gave up on a challenge.

Naruto felt the car slow down and come to a halt; he assumed they had arrived at his house. A quick glance out the window would tell him if his assumption was correct, but he preferred to continue his examination of Sasuke.

He felt a weak smile bloom on his face when he caught a questioning glare coming from the corner of Sasuke's eye.

The other boy put on the car's parking break and shifted in his seat so he was sitting face to face with Naruto. He positioned himself so that his body radiated annoyance and impatience, but Naruto could see the curiosity in the look Sasuke gave him. It was just a simple pinching of the brow, but the small act gave everything away.

"What?" Sasuke took the initiative.

"Just thinking," Naruto responded, feeling calm. The calm he felt now however was different than the one he had felt just minutes ago. The calm he had felt then had been like an illusion. It had been a weak wall separating him from his emotions, and was slowly being chipped away by the emotions it was trying to keep at bay. He hadn't been calm; he had been numb.

What he felt now, this sense of peace, was true calm.

"That can't be good," Sasuke grumbled, glancing to his side to avoid eye contact.

"Why do you try act like you don't like me?" the words slid out of Naruto's mouth as if he were simply breathing.

Sasuke's shoulders tensed and his eyes froze between moving away from glancing over his shoulder to looking at Naruto. He didn't stay frozen for long, but it was long enough for Naruto to know that the next words out of Sasuke mouth were to cover up what he was really feeling. "Didn't we already have this conversation?"

Naruto sighed, silently berating himself for even trying to get Sasuke to talk to him on an emotional level. "Yeah, we've talked about it, but I thought maybe we should talk about it now, since…" Naruto paused. Did he want to blurt it out just like that? Maybe he should try to ease Sasuke into what he was about to say? Then again, it wasn't like what he was going to say was going to be earth shattering.

"We can break off the deal," Naruto blurted.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

What? Sasuke's mind tried to catch up with what Naruto had said. He had been prepared for Naruto to whine and try to prove that Sasuke liked him, but he hadn't been prepared for the words that came out of Naurto's mouth. It was as if he had been skating on ice, tried to stop too suddenly, and went flying across the ground. He tried to scramble for his thoughts but they were coming back slower to him than he wanted.

"I talked to my journalism teacher today, and he said that I could pass his class with a different article I wrote," Naruto explained, acting as if he were talking about the weather. Did he not comprehend what he was requesting, and how ridiculous it made everything between them?

They had decided to pretend to date to help each other, though Naruto didn't know he was helping Sasuke with his acting. Their act had fooled more than just their classmates; it had fooled most of the world. They couldn't take back their actions so easily; the damage had already been done. Calling off their deal now would be like choosing to go to the movies after the theater has been burned down.

It was ridiculous, and meant Sasuke had been wasting his time.

"So you want to end our deal?" Sasuke asked, doing his best to control his anger. He felt his jaw clenching, and his fingers curl into his hands, forming fists, and then uncurling. "Do you realize how much time we wasted dating each other then?"

"I wish it was as simple as wasted time," Naruto huffed, not seeming the least bit intimidated by Sasuke's contained rage. It was more than frustrating, and Sasuke could feel a vein in his forehead throbbing. He didn't like this calm Naruto; he wanted the overly emotional Naruto he was used to. He wanted someone to yell at, but he wouldn't allow himself to lose control until Naruto did.

"I'm tired of lying," Naruto said, aggravation lining his voice as his eyes closed, and for a moment Sasuke thought that Naruto may be in physical pain. He watched as Naruto rested his elbow on the dashboard and then place his head on the hand attached to it. Naruto's chest heaved up as he took a deep breath, opening his eyes to reveal tired blue orbs that stared at Sasuke beseechingly. "I don't want to lie anymore, but you're right. Ending our deal now means we wasted our time, and personally, I don't like the idea of giving up just yet. However…" Naruto trailed off, his gaze turning towards the windshield.

Sasuke waited for Naruto to continue, but the blond remained silent. The Uchiha took the moment of silence to sort out his own thoughts.

It sounded like Naruto wanted to continue their deal, which was good, right?

There was no answer for Sasuke's silent question.

If Naruto wanted to end their deal, it would be frustrating, but Sasuke could handle it. He was a perfectionist and wanted a hundred percent in his drama class, but he could settle for ninety percent now that he knew Itachi had never achieved that much.

Oh dear lord. Had he really thought that? Had he really thought he would be okay with a less than perfect score? He was losing his mind, or maybe…

"_Just admit it Sasuke; you like me."_

Sasuke squashed the urge to shake his head to rid himself of the memory, but it was like a boomerang.

He couldn't possibly be okay with a less than perfect score because he liked Naruto and would rather take the bad score than force Naurto into a fake relationship.

Naruto was frustrating, self-centered, stupid, and so many other things that Sasuke couldn't think of currently; he'd have to make a list of all the things Naruto was later. He even had the gall to stand up to Sasuke when he was obviously wrong. It was migraine-earning, but slightly refreshing.

Sasuke gritted his teeth together, willing himself not to think about things that he knew would only get him in trouble.

He shouldn't even be considering whether he liked Naruto or not. What he felt didn't matter; they were going to continue dating if Naruto's words were anything to go by.

"…"

Sasuke eyes narrowed as he stared at the silent boy who was normally so boisterous. He felt like he was teetering on the edge of the cliff, but he didn't feel any fear. He needed to know without a doubt if Naruto was pushing him off that figurative cliff or if he was keeping him around. He couldn't waste time assuming that Naruto wanted to continue with their façade.

"What's your choice?" Sasuke prompted.

There was a pregnant moment of silence, but finally Naruto looked away from the window and answered. "You want to continue to fake date, right?"

Sasuke scowled. Sometimes he really wanted to smack that thick skull of Naruto's. "I have nothing to lose or gain from dating you," he lied with ease, and folded his arms in front of his chest, almost challenging Naruto to try to catch his lie. "I can't get my time back, so do what you want. I don't care what you do, but decide now so that I don't waste any more of it on you."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Even in his prefect bubble of calm and serenity, Naruto could feel a tiny stab of pain in chest that was like a flinch at Sasuke's words. Luckily, his body didn't give any indication that Sasuke's words had stung a bit. It was strange, but in his bubble of calm all of the verbal beatings he had received that day felt more prominent, like bruises along his skin, and yet they were somehow softer; a paradox.

He was tired of deceiving everyone. He had always thought that he was an honest person until the day he came up with the idea to trick all of his peers into thinking he was gay, and all for a stupid article too. He couldn't live a lie anymore, and it left him with a bitter feeling to give up. It was in his nature to be honest as well as determined, and now the two sides warred against each other. However, another part of him, the side that cared about others, had to side with one and that meant sacrificing a piece of himself either way.

"We'll probably kill each other if we continue to pretend," He spoke quietly to Sasuke, who was still posed with his arms crossed over his chest. As the words left his mouth, Naruto saw a slight twitch to Sasuke's shoulder, but nothing else gave away that the boy had heard him. "I wouldn't mind hanging out with you every now and then, though," Naruto added.

Sasuke unfolded his arms and turned in his seat so he was looking out the window. "Then get out of my car," Sasuke responded, his voice cold and emotionless.

* * *

**Author's Note**: It took a few months, but I got this chapter out. I know it's not that long and it ended on a cliff hanger, but I am going to try to update faster; my hope is that this cliff hanger will help me with that. I know that this chapter isn't the greatest, but I hope it was enjoyable and filled with many conflicting emotions.

On a side note, I was going to avoid posting this chapter on Valentine's Day originally, but after rereading it, I felt the somewhat ironic nature of posting this chapter today was humorous.

**Fun Fact**: Naruto's violent descriptions of what he wants to do to Sasuke come from a conversation I had with a friend two (maybe three) years ago.

**Super Special Awesome Preview**: The day after a big fight is never fun--it's made worse when you aren't wearing underwear and your pants fall down.


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